the validating mushroom

today when I discovered a mushroom growing in my front yard, my world was more hopeful.  this unusual find triggered a realization that the drastic anxiety I've been feeling over Midwest home ownership is somewhat legitimate.  after all, who will dispute that mushrooms are a far cry from the desert tumbleweeds?  that little mushroom seemed to validate the stressing I've done: it validated the constant checking for basement water leaks, it validated all my second-guessing about the use of A/C at much cooler temps, it validated the wondering if I should have the roof checked for hail damage amidst the echo of installations, it validated my frustration over a perpetually growing list of home necessities (what is a dehumidifier?), it validated the sleep lost after the tornado sirens blared, it validated afternoons wandering the yard figuring out what and how to care for its plants, and it validated my disgust at finding ants in the house.  yes, that little validating mushroom changed everything!  thank you mushroom for giving me a newfound patience to take a deep breath and enjoy this Midwest home. 

(my 2 dedicated blog readers know that I rarely leave a post unpictured.  unfortunately, I did not get a picture of THIS perfect moment of elation but I did get a photo of THIS recent moment of elation- at the finish line of the color run! enjoy and pretend I just discovered the validating mushroom!)

the same stylist

apparently these two have the same stylist...

cowabunga dude

can you believe this ninja turtle is 5?

 

 

that stage

after inviting the kids' friends to a baseball game with the family last weekend, we realized our family is at that stage.  it's no secret that I've avoided that stage as long as possible.  but work on the house, david's sports time, and an oldest who is the only oldest among her peers have slowly aided in that stage creeping in.  i knew it was only a matter of time before that stage- you know, the one in which extracuricular and social pursuits crowd out weekend family fun- attacked our young family but i was happy to be staving it off.  instead blissfully enjoying Saturdays uninterrupted by anything outside of our nuclear family.  how did i feel about our that stage outing?  i selfishly missed: hand holding; rare, carefree, chit chat away from the stresses of life; and the overall satisfaction of seeking purely celestial pursuits.  however, the kids loved the game enough to last through postgame fireworks which i'm sure would not have happened if left to family-only devices.  simply put, i still remain a bit avoidant and, at best, ambivalent about that stage but i know it's time to embrace it more readily.  but i can't promise it won't be embraced without a little hovering first! 

 

back in may day country

the Hispanic heritage of phoenix didn't lend itself to celebrating European holidays; thus, our first may day (back in may day country) caught me off guard and it was almost forgotten!  a quick paper cone template and a recent impulsive twizzlers purchase saved the day and the stover kids participated in their first may day.  they were absolutely shocked and delighted that the rule is to drop the goodies, ring the doorbell, and run.  kindin was so excited to be acceptably naughty that she fell at least 4 times during deliveries.  and jack was confused about when it was safe to come out of his hiding spot and had to be coaxed back to our house at least as many times.  they had a blast delivering goodies to their neighbor friends!

suspicious mispronunciations

mr kindergarten roundup (seen below) has recently been diagnosed with some hearing loss in one ear. therefore, this summer, we are wading through earwax, nasal sprays, and specialists to problemsolve before he's off to school.  as our only boy, we'd dismissed the feelings that he maybe wasn't hearing us because that's 'just how boys are'...  and we'd even been told the same from his pediatrician.  but there began to be too many mispronunciations (candy sore instead of canker sore, whimpy cushion instead of whoopy cushion, and humpback cars instead of pushback cars) to overlook.  and it seemed he was always trying to guess what we'd just said to him.  there were also frequent uses of the word 'what' as well as an occasional handcup over his ear.  truth be told, his suspicious mispronunciations coupled with his can-do attitude have become quite endearing.  (not to mention that knock out pre- k smile!)