What happened to April?

Not only have I been a major blogging slacker, the month of April flew by with hardly a moment to breathe.  Each day Josh and I have run back and forth during lunch to let Charley out.  She has been doing really well.  Well....except for the fact that she thinks 4:30 am is an acceptable wake up time.  She gets up to potty, then wants to play.  Uh, no Charley.  Notice that it is still dark?  Sleepy time...shhhh....she does not go for it.
My 39th birthday came (and went) with hand made cards from the kiddos, angel food cake, and soccer practice rain out so I could spend the evening with my family.  I tried not to dwell to much on the fact that I am in my last year of the 30s.  There will be a whole year to dwell on THAT.
We planted Max's loofah seeds since he was so successful last year.  So far we have had two sprout up.  Hopefully, we will see more.  I also planted him some blueberry bushes.  One is not looking well, but the other two look good so far.  I am not the greenest of thumbs, but I am trying.
We have seen a ton of rain this spring.  The kids have seen more of the inside of our house than the soccer fields. The rain is good for the grass and plants and all but it is starting to get to be a bit much!
After almost 15 years, Josh and I got a new mattress.  I have been longing for a king size mattress....especially since everyone always seems to end up in our bed!  So we bought a mattress which is being made and hopefully arriving early May. We had a day off from school so Josh and I went to Ikea to pick out a frame for it.  I spent the next day putting it together.  Can NOT wait til the mattress comes.  The little things, right?
So here it is....end of April.  24 calendar days left of school...til summer break....

Here are some April shots....

My sisters and I at Bean's baby shower

Bean and Shadow

Evelyn at the shower

Keelin keeping Caroline occupied

Max and his pack of loofah seeds

Loving on Charley

Caroline

My birthday....courtesy of Ella

Happy May.....

xo~M

Unger Squad 5 +1

The Unger Squad grew by 1 this past Friday.  After a lot of thought and deliberation, we adopted Charley.  Her mom was found in another county...limping and in pain.  When the rescue organization took her to the vet, they found out she was heartworm positive and pregnant.  I found Charley on the rescue website, but had my eye on one of her sisters.  The foster mom brought the 4 girl pups over to visit with us when they were 5 weeks old.  Everyone had a favorite.  The choice was really hard.  Charley snuggled with Josh the most but then also ventured on her own.  She was a little adventurer.  And we were sold.  Ella and I picked her up on Friday after school.  She snuggled into Ella's lap and is most excited to see her after school each day.  She must have memorized her scent from that first day. 
So Charley Rogue (named after the X-man Rogue with the white streak in her hair), has quickly become a part of our little family.  She has even attended soccer games.  I am sure there will be more on Charley as she grows up....

xo~M

Loves me? Loves me not?

This is what I think of spring this year.  Spring?  Winter? Spring?  no?  yes?  It is like the loves me, loves me not daisy.  Believe me.  I know winter.  I am from western New York.  I went to college in central New York.  I have lived in Chicago.  I know winter.  I am in Georgia now.  So, right now average temps are 66 degrees.  This is what I saw this week:

Loves me NOT....27????

Loves me not....frost on the car!

Loves me....the flowers on the entrance to our neighborhood. 

Love me....flowers blooming on my sister's tree.

 

There are some signs of spring, yes.  However, winter seems to be hanging around.  We have not seen 66 degrees yet this week.  Soccer practice and games have been cancelled more often than we have had them.  Enjoying some of the quiet/down time because of that but the kids are stir crazy.  So am I. I am ready to run outside without several layers.  I am ready to stand in car line in the morning without gloves and a hat.  I am ready to see green grass and smell flowers.  I am ready to plant my garden.  I will give spring a little more time.....

xo ~M

Ben's Day

I usually journal on what would have been Ben's birthday but I didn't even get my journal out.  I wore my blue and of lot of my friends did too, which I really appreciated.  It is like a silent army of support.  I can't see or hear them on that day but I know they are there.  I had a conference this year so being somewhat engaged kept my mind occupied.  The quiet times are the hard times.  I still have the box of Ben things.  I say every year  that I am going to go through it all.  There are reasons why I want to and reason's why I don't.  There are cards of congratulations and cards of sympathy.  There are small gifts for him and the clothes I wore when I found out we lost him.  Programs from Walks to Remember in both Atlanta and Buffalo with his name in the program.  Sometimes there are just more reasons not to go through the box.  But it is still there. 
Max and I were out in the yard this weekend and he brought a little sprig of a hyacinth to me.  I didn't know they had bloomed yet.  I usually don't pick them.  They are from a basket of bulbs I received from a friend in Buffalo to plant in memory of Ben. So when we moved I dug all the bulbs out and attempted to transplant them here.  The tulips didn't take, but every year I get the hyacinths.  Max led me over to them and then picked every flower off.  We brought them inside and put them in a tea light candle holder turned vase.  So now our memory flowers are inside the house with all of my family.  Max made a good choice. Remembering Bennett Galen  10-1-02 ~8~

xo~M

Sometimes you just gotta dance

So everyone goes through ups and downs.  Many different kinds of ups and downs-with relationships, jobs, money, just life in general.  I have been through my share.  Since becoming a "grown up, " I have become envious of people who seem to have that "inner peace" or "blind faith." This is not about religion or anything, but something I have observed growing older.  There just always seems to be something to worry about.  And then I get stressed because I am worrying so much.  A friend texted me that she wanted to run away today, because she doesn't want to be a grown up anymore.  Doesn't want the responsibilities, the burdens, the worries that appear to go along with being an adult. I could totally relate to her. I kept telling her, "I know.  I know." And she was saying, " I know you know. I wish you didn't know!" Anyway, for the past year or so, I have been reading Sarah Young's devotional book (Jesus Calling) and the book of Awakening, which is more of a meditation kind of book.  I read them together and then journal about what I read and try to relate it to my life.  I try to read everyday but have to admit, it does not always happen. In both of the books-giving to a power higher than yourself (what/who-ever it may be) is pretty relevant.  I have just not found it.  Yet.  See I am trying for that optimism.  I was sitting at my desk today.  I dread end of the month.  Bills are due, money is tight, bills are due....I was responding to a zillion emails, trying to plan lessons, worrying about bills not yet paid, getting data sheets together, trying to work my way down my to-do list....and all of a sudden this overwhelming feeling of happiness came over me.  I can not even describe it.  It wasn't peace or faith.  It was happiness, joy.  I don't know why.  I was just innately and overwhelmingly happy.  I tried to explain it to Josh when I got home and I know I didn't do a good job.  I am not even sure I did it justice here.  When I got home though and saw my kids, my family...an impromptu Unger Dance Party began.  Because when you are happy....dancing is JUST the thing:)

xo~M

courtesy of Ella Unger

courtesy of Ella Unger

PS Keelin was on Instagram.....probably posting about how utterly embarrassed she was  by the actions of her entire family....which is why she is not in the dance party pictures.....

A Walk in the park

It seems like soccer season and all of the running around that went with it just ended, but Monday it began again.  I love that my kids love their sports.  I just feel like less of a mom and more of a taxi driver.  From school to soccer to voice lessons to basketball.  Unfortunately basketball and soccer over lap for the next 3 weeks.  So getting Ella to goalie from 5-6 and having her at basketball practice from 6-7 on the same night but two different places are pretty much impossible.  Oh yeah, and then there is homework and when to make dinner.  It seems like a lot now but I know once we get back into the swing of things it will all be ok.  Ella had practice tonight.  Max was with me.  Instead of racing back home to start dinner and unload the dish washer and start a load of laundry, we played on the playground, walked the trail, and watched the dogs at the dog park.  Totally worth the later bedtime.  Here are some pictures from our afternoon together. 

xo~M

who needs to slide down a slide when you can climb like a monkey

the big stick he was looking for

Max found where a leaf was embedded in cement

Walking stick



Special People

There are certain people whom I feel are brought into your life for a reason.  You may not know it right when you meet them or even as you get to know them.  You may always know it or it may creep upon you suddenly.  I met such a person 7 years ago at my job.  She was a student teacher in our special education department and that year I did not even know her that well.  She has since gone on to become Ella's preschool teacher, co-teacher (allowing me to become a part of her classroom), Max's teacher, friend, and I think of her as another sister.  She has become the person I can ask anything regarding my faith and sometimes my lack thereof.  She is helping to guide Keelin down the spiritual path that she has chosen. She recently made Ella's day by coming back to our school to eat lunch with her.  When she visited yesterday, Max didn't leave her lap.  I might not see or talk to her every day, but I know that she is there for me, just as I am there for her.  There are some points in our lives when we need certain people for certain reasons.  Jenn is one of those people for me.  I hope she reads this and know how much she means to me.

xo~M