MomsEveryday Post: They're Coming to Get Me

MomsEveryday ran They're Coming to Get Me this morning - pop on over to read all about the vicious lizards who are, as I type, in meetings to discuss their next attack on Casa Ferris.

This posting was an appropriate one for today, because for the next few days I'll in Lincoln, Nebraska...where, for the first time in quite a few months, I don't have to worry about lizards sneaking inside the house if I leave the backdoor open for longer than .7 seconds or being attacked by fire ants whenever I set foot in the grass. It's a like the weight of the world has been lifted off my shoulders.

Super Moon

Will wasn't all that impressed when the Super Moon rolled through town last year, so this year I didn't bother to even mention the lunar wonder to him.

Tom, however, joined me outside while I took Super Moon pictures, very few of which turned out like I'd hoped because I couldn't hold my camera still enough. I must have complained quite a bit about my tripod-less life that evening, because I opened a tripod a week later on Mother's Day.

So all in all, it wasn't a bad evening.

Decoration Day

Will and I began reading the Magic Tree House children's book series last summer during our library's summer reading program. We've cruised through one or two chapter books each month, breaking up the mystery and suspense of Jack and Annie's adventures back in time with Calvin and Hobbes, Star Wars, and superhero books. Just recently we devoured Magic Tree House #21, Civil War on Sunday, which was my favorite book in the series thus far because of its focus on Clara Barton.

After finishing this incredibly entertaining but also factually-based and age-appropriate story, Will and I decided to learn a little more about the Civil War by way of a few simple Google and Wikipedia searches. Will was particularly interested to learn that Memorial Day, which originated after the Civil War to honor the Union soldiers who had died serving our country, was formerly known as Decoration Day. Since I couldn't immediately explain the Decoration Day name or why our country transitioned from Decoration Day to Memorial Day, our research continued until he felt I'd answered his questions. Or until it was time for Wild Kratts. I can't be sure.

During our research I came across this quote, and it spoke to me.

I have never been able to think of the day as one of mourning; I have never quite been able to feel that half-masted flags were appropriate on Decoration Day. I have rather felt that the flag should be at the peak, because those whose dying we commemorate rejoiced in seeing it where their valor placed it. We honor them in a joyous, thankful, triumphant commemoration of what they did. ~Benjamin Harrison

I believe in solemnly honoring those who've given their lives in service to our country, and I will do so today. But I also believe in joyfully celebrating our freedom, made possible by their sacrifice.

Happy Memorial Day.

Red Cross Post: National Mental Health Month 2012

As someone who at one time suffered from a mental health condition (severe postpartum depression, lasting for close to 18 months after Will was born), I consider National Mental Health Month an important time of the year. With the goal of raising awareness about mental health conditions and promoting mental wellness, Mental Health Month shines a spotlight on the advocacy, education, and services provided by our country’s mental health agencies as well as on the importance of making mental health services available to all citizens.

The American Red Cross provides a great deal of support to individuals suffering from mental health conditions related to traumatic events and disasters like fires, hurricanes, and tornadoes. Click here to read more about the services provided American Red Cross Disaster Mental Health Workers and to find out more about becoming a member of this lifesaving team.

Flashback Friday: College

When I was in high school I heard from adults on numerous occasions that one of the advantages of going to college alone (attending a school where you didn't know anyone) was the opportunity to "reinvent" yourself. I always thought this was kind of an odd way to look at college; I mean, if you didn't like yourself as a high schooler and wanted to make a change, why wouldn't you just go ahead and do it instead of waiting for college?

As time went by I came to realize that "reinventing" yourself in college had less to do with changing who you actually WERE in high school and more to do with having an opportunity to start fresh in a new place, with new people, and with no head-gear-wearing history holding you back. Basically, just because I was a dork in middle school and a semi-dork in high school didn't mean I had to be a dork in college. These new people would know only what I told them about my past, and that thought was freeing.  Until of course I realized - a little too late - that I was and continue to be an over-sharer.

I envisioned college starting off differently than it actually did, with me crying like child when my parents left me in the parking lot outside my dorm. But after a few months, I settled in, and after a few more months, I found the larger group of people who became my now life-long friends.

My college experience - all five years of it :) - was a great one. I'd love to go back and live that life for even just one more day, but since I can't, I'll take a walk down memory lane here with you.

Drinks at Pat O'Brien's in New Orleans.  (Tom's on
the farright and I'm next to him.)

Leslie, Beth, and me at one of the many parties we hosted
at "Bloomington" (our falling down house with no air conditioning
and rotten heat and an outside wall that had literally fallen off the
house but with a fabulous porch and in the best location in town).

Arriving in Cocoa Beach, FL.  I think it's safe to say
we'd gone a little crazy after driving for so long.
(I'm the 3rd from the left in the front row.)

Leslie and me at camp (we were counselors)
in upstate New York.  We were on the green
team, in case you couldn't tell.

Remember how you wore your pajamas everywhere
in college?  (Or was that just me? )  Beth and I are rocking
our matching (and not terribly flattering) pajama
pants in a church in North Carolina.

Shopping in the Disneyland gift shop in CA.
(I'm Minnie Mouse and Tom is Goofy.)

Sara and me.  This may have been taken on the day
she graduated from college, and if that's the case I
guess I wasn't technically in college when the picture
was taken.  I like it though, so I'm leaving it in.

"Midnight Cowgirl", "Born to be a Cowgirl", and "Buck Wild"
in a line dancing bar in San Antonio, TX.
Maybe I was meant to live in Texas all along!

On our way to the top of a mountain in Montana on Tom's 21st birthday.

Leslie and me in downtown Park City, UT
(one of the most gorgeous towns I've ever set foot in).

Though I'm not in this picture, Tom is (2nd from the right) and
he's doing a great job of expressing just how excited we were
when we ate our very first Whataburger back in 2001.

Studio 54 on the Las Vegas strip.
(I'm in the middle.)

Leslie and me celebrating NYE in the
Galt House Hotel in Louisville, KY.

Carrie, Beth, Leslie, and me at an Iowa Hawkeye tailgate.

My and Melanie's reflections in the Vietnam
Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C.
This is one of my all-time favorite pictures.

Waiting for our tickets to the Late Show with David Letterman
in New York City.  I have absolutely no idea who was on the
program that night, so they must not have been very famous.

Sara and me outside Cafe Du Monde in New Orleans.

I was lucky to have had the opportunity to travel a great deal in college, and most of the photos I kept were from those trips.  I have wonderful memories of experiences that didn't involve travel, but kept far fewer pictures from those.  I love that my children will always have access to digital photography! 

Stay tuned next week, when we flashback to...Tom!  Get ready for some FABULOUS photos of Taco Tom as you've never seen him before.  (Family-friendly pictures only, of course. :))

April Showers Bring May Flowers

It didn't actually rain much at all in April, but we were lucky to receive more than eight inches of rain in both February and March. And while it didn't rain enough to officially change our drought status, the rain we did see was enough to support the growth of quite a few beautiful blooms around our neighborhood.

Flowers really are my favorite category to photograph, for reasons I've mentioned previously, and this spring has delivered a plethora of opportunities for me to practice capturing and then editing pictures of gorgeous blooms.

Hallie is any pretty flower or flower-like weed's biggest fan, and she does a great job of pointing out anything that even resembles a flower whenever we're walking to the park, soccer practice, or baseball games. She's become my photography sidekick, so I'll call these "our" most recent photographic captures:

We also captured photos of a couple of little creatures as well:

Back at the computer, I've started playing around with photo editing software. I'm still pretty green when it comes to the correct way to edit photos, but I'm having fun experimenting!

And lastly, my favorite photo, completely unedited.

Seeking out flowers of which to take photos has really forced me to - pardon the cliche - stop and smell the roses. Instead of watching the pavement for snakes (I've seen two, both dead in the road, in the last 24 hours), my eyes are scanning the world around me for anything that speaks louder than it's surroundings. It's a much better view.

MomsEveryday Post: How We Roll

MomsEveryday ran "How We Roll" (retitled to "Clothes: Optional") on their site today. If you missed it the first time around, pop on over to read it on their fantastic website!

Oh, and while you're clicking, would you like this photo so we can win four tickets to Schlitterbahn? Thanks!