Baby Watch Continues...

Nope! Still no baby. Man, this one sure is taking its time. Yes, I know its technically not due until Monday, but it always seems like Tammy's babies come a little earlier than expected. OK, I guess I'll just have to be patient. Come on little one!!! Your favorite Aunt is waiting!

Simple Pleasures ...continued

~Having dinner with friends.

~Buying a cute new outfit.

~Being in a crowded room and feeling the air turn on. Taking a few deep breaths is very calming.

~Sleeping in on a Saturday morning.

~Driving a cool red Mustang!!!

Simple Pleasures - Day 1

I think an important part of being happy in life is taking enjoyment in the simple pleasures. I've noticed a few in the last few days and decided what better way to acknowledge them than to post them on my blog. So here it goes...

1. Treating oneself to a nice meal in the middle of the day. Not an expensive one, necessarily, but a nice one where you actually sit down in the restaurant and order from a waiter and relax and not have to think about work for a few minutes.

2. Breathing fresh air after a long day of work in an office at a desk behind a computer.

3. Driving a really cool red Mustang!

4. Having a home cooked meal ready and waiting for you when you get home from work! (The perks to living with one's parents before they've left on their mission.)

... to be continued

Operation "Baby Watch"

So the official due date is June 2nd, only 4 days away. But it could always be sooner than that. No, I'm not pregnant. I'd prefer to get married first before I try motherhood. I know many women in the world are in situations not of their choice where they are now single mothers raising children on their own. Hats off to them. I think being a parent is hard, but add the burden of doing it alone makes it doubly hard. Why anyone would choose to be a single parent right off the bat is beyond me. So to any of my family and friends out there who would like to see me bear children in this lifetime, I could use a little assistance in the finding a husband department. I digress.

My sister-in-law is expecting #4, which will make #7 grandchild in the Lee clan. I'm so excited to see the little guy/girl. Nope. We have no idea which it will be. That's one thing my brother and sister-in-law have always done is keep the baby's gender a surprise, even to them. I like it. The anticipation of either a boy or a girl is half the fun. As soon as the little one makes its way into this world, I will post the great news. Until then, here is a picture of it with it's older siblings, Dominic (2), Karinne (almost 4) and Benjamin (7)... and Mom (my sister-in-law) of course. Where else would the baby be?

Isn't He Adorable?!

This is Dominic, one of my nephews. He celebrated his 2nd birthday on May 19th and while it is 3 days late, I just wanted to give a shout out to this adorable little man and say "Happy Birthday, Dominic. I love you!"

Happy Mother's Day!!!

So even though Mother's Day was technically a couple of days ago, here's a shout out to my mom in honor of Mother's Day. Many years ago, my mom and I were walking through the mall in Orem, UT and we came across this store with all these little trinkets, one of which was a framed peom entitled, "Mean Mothers". We read it and loved it and since then my mom has prided herself on being a "Mean Mom". We didn't buy it, but to this day I wish we had. I've hunted and hunted and have never been able to find a poem that quite does that one justice. But in honor of Mother's Day and in honor of my wonderful, beautiful mother who, I am so incredibly grateful for, was a "Mean Mother", I am including the following peom that I found on the internet. And to all you mother's out there, I hope you are one and are proud to call yourselves a "Mean Mother".

My mom with one of her granddaughters, Abigail.

The Meanest Mother In The World
Copyright© 1967 by Bobbie Pingaro

I had the meanest mother in the whole world. While other kids ate candy for breakfast, I had to have cereal, eggs or toast. When others had cokes and candy for lunch, I had to eat a sandwich. As you can guess, my supper was different than the other kids' also.

But at least, I wasn't alone in my sufferings. My sister and two brothers had the same mean mother as I did.

My mother insisted upon knowing where we were at all times. You'd think we were on a chain gang. She had to know who our friends were and where we were going. She insisted if we said we'd be gone an hour, that we be gone one hour or less--not one hour and one minute. I am nearly ashamed to admit it, but she actually struck us. Not once, but each time we had a mind of our own and did as we pleased. That poor belt was used more on our seats than it was to hold up Daddy's pants. Can you imagine someone actually hitting a child just because he disobeyed? Now you can begin to see how mean she really was.

We had to wear clean clothes and take a bath. The other kids always wore their clothes for days. We reached the height of insults because she made our clothes herself, just to save money. Why, oh why, did we have to have a mother who made us feel different from our friends?

The worst is yet to come. We had to be in bed by nine each night and up at eight the next morning. We couldn't sleep till noon like our friends. So while they slept-my mother actually had the nerve to break the child-labor law. She made us work. We had to wash dishes, make beds, learn to cook and all sorts of cruel things. I believe she laid awake at night thinking up mean things to do to us.

She always insisted upon us telling the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, even if it killed us- and it nearly did.

By the time we were teen-agers, she was much wiser, and our life became even more unbearable. None of this tooting the horn of a car for us to come running. She embarrassed us to no end by making our dates and friends come to the door to get us. If I spent the night with a girlfriend, can you imagine she checked on me to see if I were really there. I never had the chance to elope to Mexico. That is if I'd had a boyfriend to elope with. I forgot to mention, while my friends were dating at the mature age of 12 and 13, my old fashioned mother refused to let me date until the age of 15 and 16. Fifteen, that is, if you dated only to go to a school function. And that was maybe twice a year.

Through the years, things didn't improve a bit. We could not lie in bed, "sick" like our friends did, and miss school. If our friends had a toe ache, a hang nail or serious ailment, they could stay home from school. Our marks in school had to be up to par. Our friends' report cards had beautiful colors on them, black for passing, red for failing. My mother being as different as she was, would settle for nothing less than ugly black marks.

As the years rolled by, first one and then the other of us was put to shame. We were graduated from high school. With our mother behind us, talking, hitting and demanding respect, none of us was allowed the pleasure of being a drop-out.

My mother was a complete failure as a mother. Out of four children, most of us attained some higher education. None of us have ever been arrested, divorced or beaten his mate. Each of my brothers served his time in the service of this country. And whom do we have to blame for the terrible way we turned out? You're right, our mean mother. Look at the things we missed. We never got to march in a protest parade, nor to take part in a riot, burn draft cards, and a million and one other things that our friends did. She forced us to grow up into God-fearing, educated, honest adults.

Using this as a background, I am trying to raise my three children. I stand a little taller and I am filled with pride when my children call me mean. Because, you see, I thank God, He gave me the meanest mother in the whole world.

Written byBobbie Pingaro ©1967

The Latest Update

I realize that it's been a few weeks since I last posted and much has changed since then. I'm still loving "Stella". People are quite shocked when they see me driving a dark red Mustang. It has definitely been quite the conversation piece. For those wondering how she got her name... well... I wanted a name that was sassy and feminine. Something with attitude but not too overbearing. The name Stella just popped into my mind a few days after I got her and I thought, "Stella the 'Stang", and it stuck. For those wanting a picture of me and my car... give me a few days. I'll get one and post it soon.

So the biggest news is that I am moving. Not too far away. I'm moving to Livermore to live in my parent's house while they are gone on their mission. FREE RENT!!! YEAH!!! My mom brought up the idea last year and I thought it would be great. But then a few months ago, after I had decided to move it just didn't feel right. So I told my parents that I had decided to stay where I was and not live in their house while they were gone. They understood and began making preparations to leaving it empty for us kids to take care of while they are gone. But then a couple of weeks ago my roommate and I were notified that our landlord was increasing our rent and with the recent purchase of that shiny red Mustang parked out on the curb, more rent stretched me to my limit. So I started thinking about it again and this time it felt right. Don't ask me to explain why now it is the right thing for me to do and a few months ago it wasn't. Heavenly Father has His reasons and I've learned not to question why... sometimes anyway. So I am moving Memorial Day weekend. I'm kind of excited to embark on this new adventure.

Since deciding to move and save on rent I was invited by a friend to go to Honduras in August and build a house with Habitat for Humanity and I thought... why not. I can afford it. So August 2nd I board a plane with friends bound for Honduras to spend 8 days building a house for a less fortunate family. And then on the 10th we hop, skip and jump it to Costa Rica for 6 days to relax after a hard week of manual labor. I am so excited for this trip. I have developed a love of traveling to different countries and Central America is one place I've never been before. I have the opportunity and means so why not take it? I am going to make the most of my single life and have great adventures. That just seems so much better to me than wallowing in self pity and loneliness. I get plenty of that in anyway. I might as well intermix it with once in a life time experiences!