Thankful #27

I am thankful for scents.  There are so many scents that I love, and the memories that they invoke:

• Baby powder and rubbing alcohol – this reminds me of my children when they were babies.
• Sawdust – this reminds me of my dad getting wood in the summer for our fireplace.
• Rain on the cement on a hot summer day – this reminds me of playing in the rain.
• Cinnamon pinecones at Christmas time – this reminds me of Christmas!
• Polo cologne – this reminds me of my hubby.

There are more, so many more!  I am thankful I can smell!

Baby Clothes

When I found out I was having a girl, I knew that it was time to get rid of my boy clothes.  I didn’t have any problems getting rid of them.  I had bought most of them from garage sales, and the rest were the cheapest clothes I could afford to buy.  They had been through 3 boys and I was tired of them.  I gave them all to my sister without a backwards glance.

The Princess had beautiful clothes.  I bought a bunch when I was pregnant, and she was given so many as gifts.  Dresses and sleepers and tights and shoes (I never bought shoes for my boys when they were babies!  Not until they started walking!).  Lace and ribbons and bows and ruffles and pink, pink, pink!  It was so much fun to dress her.

I have said it before – you buy clothes for boys because you can’t let them walk around nekked.  You buy clothes for girls because they are so cute and make you say, “Awwwww.”

But as The Princess grew out of her clothes, I struggled with letting them go.  They had barely been used and were in such good condition.  I finally gave them to my sister the hopes that my sister would have a girl.  But she didn’t.  So she gave them all back to me because she didn’t know what I would want done with them. 

So then I had to deal with those emotions all over again.

And then I had a brilliant idea.  I got out my digital camera and went to work taking pictures.  Of every single outfit.  I love that we have digital cameras now and can take all the pictures we want without spending the money to develop every single picture.



After I took the pictures, I was able to let go of the clothes without a problem.  I had already pulled a few of the clothes out that I wanted to keep.  Those are boxed up, waiting for my daughter to mock them when she grows up and I pull them out for her little girl.  (Sorry, Mom.)

Monumental Moment Monday

When I ask you what your most monumental moments in your life have been, what would you say?

Okay, so we would all say getting married, having babies, etc.  Those are the obvious ones.

I want to know about the other monumental moments.  The ones that still meant a lot to you, or changed your life. 

I have several, and I thought I would start Monumental Moment Mondays.  Just for fun.
Here is today’s moment :

After baby #2, I started having the feeling that I needed to finish my education.  I had put it on hold to have babies, and really hadn’t planned on ever finishing, but I just couldn’t shake the feeling that I need to go back. 

So I enrolled at the University of Phoenix, where you attend class once a week, in the evening.  When I started college before I was married, I was majoring in Elementary Education.  Then after we got married, I switched to Medical Transcription.  But when I started going for my Bachelor’s at UOP, I went into Accounting.  I needed 2 years to finish.

2 months after I started school, I got pregnant.  So I spent the first year of my schooling pregnant.  I gave birth 1 week after finishing the hardest class of my program…Advanced Accounting. 

I then spent the second year of my schooling taking care of an infant, driving 90 miles round trip to take my son to preschool (that’s another story in itself), and I had carpal tunnel surgery on both hands (that’s another story!).

But I did it.  I finished.  I got my Bachelor’s degree in Accounting!  I was an accountant! 

I haven’t done too many things for myself, but this one was just for me.  I still smile when I think about it.  It was so hard, but I kept going and I finished. 

That was a huge Monumental Moment for me. 

I have more moments coming but I would love to hear some of yours, whether it be in comments or your own blog posts.

Journal Keeping

I have kept a daily (almost) journal since the 8th grade.  I never used anything fancy, just a simple spiral notebook.  I need to go back and type them up, because the ink is starting to fade.  Yes, add that to my list of things to do! 

Anyway, in 1998, I started typing up my journal.  I am on the computer a lot, and it was just easier.  I print them out at the end of each year and bind them so they are similar to my handwritten ones. 

I love to go back and read them.  I have gone through and done some editing...even so far as ripping entire pages out.  There are some things that my posterity does not need to know!  LOL 

These are my journals on my shelf in my scrapbook room.  Would you like to hear a random entry?  Too bad!  LOL  I used a random date generator on the Internet, but every date it gave me, then journal entry for that date was so boring! 
Last year I typed up my Mom's old journals and I loved reading them.  She went through struggles just like I am.  She yelled at her kids and felt bad about it, just like me.  I wish I could have read them years ago.  I think I might have felt better about myself as a mother.
So go write in your journal.  If you haven't started one, start today.  Your kids will love you for it!

Please play with me!

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you.