Sundays Revisited

While growing up, Sundays always meant one thing, the big mid-day dinner.

Regardless of just how strapped for cash mum and dad were we always had a great noon time dinner on Sundays.  By the time the clock hit 11 am great smells would be wafting from the kitchen.  Despite all of the stereotyping of the rotten food from Great Britan, my English born mum was a great cook!!!

My particular favorite was her roast beef with Yorkshire pudding.  Mum made THE BEST gravy ever!!!!  I would drown the succulent meat, boiled potatoes, fresh green beans, corn and the Yorkshire in a brown sea of steaming rich gravy.  I can almost smell it!

Last Sunday I made a mid-day meal of roast beef and Yorkshire pudding.  Although it was good and the Yorkshire came out great, it wasn't mum's.  Especially not the gravy!!

Still, it brought back wonderful memories of mum in her kitchen.  Here's a picture of the meal below.

I can never make gravy like you mum, but you did pass on the Yorkshire gene.  I love you!!

Roast Beef, small Roasted Potatoes Brussel Sprouts, Corn, Mashed Potatoes and

Yorkshire Pudding in the middle.

April Vacation

I cannot believe we are here at the end of April vacation. Didn't we just welcome in 2010? Crazy!!

As this week approached I made the decision that I was going to make it about the kids, not about getting the many, many, many projects done that have been on my to-do list waiting for the time and opportunity to tackle them. It was hard to not want to work on these things, but I will never regret the decision to spend some really great time with my men!!

Here are some pictures of a great week!!

On Saturday the 17th, we went with some friends to see Diary of a Wimpy Kid movie. Great movie! I love it when you not only know your kids are enjoying it, but you get to laugh along with them. There were definitely some moments that made me make a 'just sucked on a lemon' face - but hey, boys live for that stuff!!!

Sunday the 18th - I wasn't feeling so swell so the 1st half of the day was quiet. Then we all went out to run some errands, grab an ice cream and come home for a family movie. Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium. We'd never seen this before. It was very cute.

Monday the 19th - Gotta love those library passes!! We went to the New England Aquarium in Boston. The fun began before we even go there as the boys love to ride the commuter rail. Because it was a holiday and we were riding off-peak hours, they even got the seats with the table. Score!! The kids loved the aquarium although the smell of fish when the penguins were being fed was enough to make us run outside before my oldest one retched in front of everyone. I think their favorites were the jelly fish and octopus.  We of course worked up an appetite and so headed over to Quincy Market where the boys enjoyed hot dogs! That night we had a den meeting where we worked on some of our electives and had a great time playing games!!

 

Tuesday the 20th - Friends came over in the afternoon for lots of running in and out, up and down the stairs and plenty of shooting sound effects! What was especially nice is now that the kids are a little older and we can watch them in our fenced yard through the window and door out back, the moms were able to sip some tea and have a nice chat. Ahhh... adult conversation!!! Then I made breakfast for dinner for all of us (my boys favorite dinner)! Pancakes, sausage, eggs and a yummy and healthy egg casserole for the adults. Wonderful afternoon and early evening! Then it was off to Bible Study for mum.

Wednesday the 21st - This day started with a trip to the library. We perused first the younger kids section, stopping to put together a few puzzles and play with some favorite stuffed characters, and then off to the big kids section to where my oldest son has graduated. He found the next Stink book in the series (don't you love these titles?) and then he selected some biographies as he loves history!! The little guys choose an alphabet book and a few Star Wars books that big brother said he'd read to him. (and he did too!) Later that afternoon we went to a friends house to meet up with a few families for a fun time out in the sun. We've had great weather this week!!

Thursday the 22nd - After dropping our little guy off to play with his cousin, we took our older son and nephew to tour the Adams houses in Quincy (during Adams time this was actually part of the town of Braintree for all of you history buffs). Due to it being vacation week, the tour was free!! (nice!) Another bonus, we got to ride the trolley!! The boys thought this was super cool!! You go to the visitor’s center and they cart you around from the birth houses to the 'old' house in the trolley. The tours were great as the guides are very knowledgeable and great with kids. (If you're in Mass., the Adams houses are a fantastic take, I highly recommend it!!).

After the tour we then headed back to my sisters where all of the cousins (that were there) played together outside while we watched and giggled at their comments. Then the boys had a sleep over at aunties!!! Mum and Dad went out for lunch then headed home to watch a movie together (The Proposal - cute).

Friday the 23rd - The cousins headed back to aunties house so the boys had playmates from an early hour. Dad headed back to work and Mum had a few hours to do some laundry, dishes, clean the bathroom and run to the store. Do I know how to have a good time or what?? But it was nice to get things done without feeling guilty that the boys were stuck in front of the tv or something...
Pick up in the early afternoon. We came home and made some cookies and played some games. Great afternoon.

Saturday the 24th - No soccer due to bad allergies for the big guy. Instead, we headed to the Boy Scout supply store to pick up a book or two for Dad who is the den leader. Then we went to see How to Train Your Dragon. Good movie, terrible popcorn. (To hear more on that, go to my it’s' time blog) The kids really enjoyed the movie; mum enjoyed all of the Scottish accents!! But allergies once again in the afternoon took their toll on the big guy and he's currently asleep in my bed.

What will Sunday the 25th hold? Church in the am and then Scouting events in the late afternoon and early evening.

All in all, a great week!!! They're only little once and we'll never get this time back. The curtains I've been dying to make for their room.... they'll keep. But now I have more memories to keep of our great week together!

movie pics: movieinsider.com

Missing

I cannot find my motivation... Have you seen it?

By the look of my ever increasing laundry mound (something I am typically right on top of... not the mound, rather; there usually isn't a mound at all) it has been gone for at least 3 days.
Floors need vacuuming, sweeping, mopping.  Shelves need polishing.  Boys room needs.. saving!  My craft/office is in dire need of sorting - *side note - why is it my room has become the "Gee, I don't know where this goes, I'll dump it in mum's/my wife's room."  Family meeting clearly needs to be held on this.  More raking needs to be done (ah, reprieve - it's raining).
All of this and here I sit blogging!

If you see my motivation somewhere, would you please kindly send it home?
I think I may resort to some strong java in the meantime...

Got Sucked In Again

Have you ever got sucked into a show that you didn't want to watch?  You know, the show you're not interested in that comes on after the show that you did want to watch?
For me, it's Parenthood.  I really do not want to start watching this show.  I have a few shows that I'm in to and quite frankly, I'm not looking to expand my repitoir at this time.  I'd like to be exclusive with the ones I'm already seeing.  That's just how I am folks, faithful.
So The Biggest Loser comes on from 8 - 10 pm and I totally love that show!! (so glad Melissa went home again this week! I hate all of the game play - just like to watch people transform their lives for the better.)  For some reason however, I do not have the will power to either A. pick up the clicker and change the channel or B. just shut off the tv.  The next thing you know, I'm into the next show.
I have nothing against Parenthood, it's funny and interesting, but I'm really not looking to add a dramady to my viewing schedule.  I'm quite happy with Biggest Loser, American Idol, some Dancing With The Stars (not as excited with the cast of characters as others seem to be), The Office, Ugly Betty, Masterpiece Theater, Jaime Oliver's Food Revloution (oh, I so need to post on this great show!!), and Wednesdays With Beth (Beth Moore on James Robison show).  I think this is more than enough!  I don't even have time to watch all of these - I DVR some of these and it takes weeks to watch them.
So that's it Parenthood, no sucking me in!  I do not have time to add you to my dance card.  It's full.  I'm done.

Stop Staring

I'm a big night time snacker.  I go between sweet and salt and then back to sweet again.  It's a problem!

But for the past several months I have been making a concerted effort to make good snacking choices.  So the other night I was in 'need' of a sweet something.  I decided to have an Italian ice.  Sweet, refreshing and only 100 calories (hmm.. should I have put this on my 'itstime' blog?...).

So into the kitchen I go.  I grab my spoon, pull the icey treat from the freezer and head to the trash to peel off the lid and discard it.  But once I took off the lid, I had a shock.  My snack was looking back at me!!

I so wish this picture could do it justice!!

A Priceless Moment

A few weeks ago, my oldest son came home from school and ran up the driveway as per normal after getting off of the school bus.  He yelled out a 'hi mummy' as he ran past me and bounded up the stairs.  He barely reached the top step when he started tearing apart his back pack. 
"Mummy, I have something to show you!" he declared.
"What" I inquired.
"My report card."
We sat down on the couch together and went over the report subject by subject.  It was a wonderful report card!
Once we finished checking out each 'grade' (still at the age of "S" and "S+") and we had discussed what each comment meant, I then began to hug my son and tell him what a wonderful job he has done and how proud I am of him.
He then said, "Mummy, I think I'm going to cry."
"Why my love?" I asked.
"Because I've made you so happy and because I'm so proud of myself."

Awesome!!!

Two Years

March 16th was the two year anniversary of my mum's death.  I can't believe it's already been two years!!  I continue to miss her every day, and there are times I almost feel... guilty for going on.  This may sound silly if you've never experienced this kind of loss.  It's like, you feel like every day you live you should some how be honoring their memory.
I'm in a season of transition in my life.  Any time I feel down about it (I HATE transition) I try to think about how these changes would in some ways make my mum so happy.  My mother ALWAYS fretted about money.  Not just for herself, but for her children.  Hopefully God will be showing me the perfect job He has for me that will work well with my family soon, and the additional finances would make my mum happy.  I try to think about that - hoping that would be honoring to her in some way.
I also feel that my mother's gift of love and affection has been passed on to my own family, and in that way too, her memory is honored.

Well, without further ado - below is the eulogy that my sister Kerry wrote for my mother's funeral.  It was so well done that I feel it's the best thing to post each year at this time.

Thank you God for the gift of my mum.  And mum, I LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Our mother, like most mothers, was a very special person. She was warm and loving and funny. You often hear people say how those that have passed will leave a hole or a void. The absence of my mother will leave an abyss. Or at least, that’s how it feels.Our mother was a big presence in our lives. For us, she was truly the tie that binds. Over the past few days, I’ve found myself wondering how we will carry on without her. I know, of course, that we will, but the idea of it seemed inconceivable.But as I thought about having to face life without my mother, without my best friend, I realized how, because of her, we will certainly get through this terrible time together.My mother taught us many things, as most parents do. But three things we learned from her are perhaps the most important lessons for dealing with life.Naturally, she, along with our father’s help, taught us right from wrong. Through her example, we not only learned the typical rights and wrongs, but we learned the right way to be a good friend, the right way to care about others and the right way to treat the people that are important to you. And she taught us that it is right that family takes care of family. More than once my mother told me what a great comfort it was to her that if ever any of her children were in trouble or in need that we could turn to any of the other 4 and we would be a help and support one another.Another thing we learned from our mother was to love one another and to do so openly. More than a few people have commented over the years how affectionate my family is to one another. We always great each other with hugs and kisses and do the same again when we part. Well – ok – maybe Eddie and Mark don’t hug and kiss each other – but there is certainly brotherly affection. When we speak to one another on the phone, conversations almost always end with “I love you”, and “I love you too”. We tell our children and our nieces and nephews all the time how much we love them and how special they are to us. Something we learned from our mother.The last of the three important lessons learned from Mom, was to laugh at life – even if it’s at your own expense – which, in her case, it often was. Mom loved a good laugh. All of the Rockwood family loves a good laugh and we are never together that we don’t laugh a great deal. We learned not to take ourselves so seriously that we couldn't laugh at ourselves – something my mother excelled at. In fact, if she did something funny and there was no one to witness it, she would'nt keep her goofs to herself – she’d tell everybody, which is funny in itself.So, as I think of these things, I realize, though the void is sizable and though the coming weeks, months and even times throughout the years will find us mourning our dearly loved mother, we will as a family, get through it together.We will stand by one another. We will love one another. And we will laugh together. And in doing so, we will keep our mother’s spirit with us always.I hope that some of you will learn from my mother, especially to tell the people you love that you love them – and tell them often. Not because life is precarious and you never know how much time you will have together. Not even because it’s what people who love one another should do. Tell them simply because you DO love them.I know that we will pass these lessons on to our own children and grandchildren: To stand by your family and love and support them; To tell them often how much you love them and to laugh at life – even if it’s at your own expense. Oh – and to never, ever tell a child you have eyes in the back of your head.