A Family Tradition

On Monday, I received a package in the mail and was so excited.  Even though I wasn’t aware what was in package, it’s always nice to get something that isn’t a bill. 

Imagine my excitement when I opened the package to find a photo book from Shutterfly.  The photo book was a collection of wedding portraits dating back to July 22, 1925.  “The Howe Handkerchief” – a family tradition that began in 1925 on my dad’s side of the family!  The handkerchief is carried by brides on their wedding days.  The photo book contains pictures of 43 wedding days.  What a great way to capture such an amazing tradition. 

Here are a few pictures of the photo book. 

 

 

***Catherine Howe married James R. Thomas***
***July 22, 1925***
 

 

****Catherine Mott married Forrest Jordan***
***August 5, 1942***
***my grandparents on my dad’s side of the family***

 

***John Russell Jordan married Suzette Wray***
***May 23, 1971***
***my parents***

 

Jarrad & I, Taylor & Ruth were right next to each other in the book.  Kyle and Sheryl were on the facing page.  It’s cool that we were so close to each other in the book. 

***Allison Jordan married Jarrad Ramsey***
***April 26, 2003***

***Taylor Jordan married Ruth Huber***
***July 25, 2003***

 

***Kyle Jordan married Sheryl Peters***
***February 26, 2005***

 

***the back cover of the photo book***

This is definitely a tradition that will carry on for generations to come. 

I was so excited

Today, when I went to check the mail, I was excited to see a bigger than average envelope in the mail box. What could be inside? Who sent this wonderful surprise? That's when I noticed it was from the USPS. All the excitement went straight out the window.

My next thought was did I order stamps online? (Answer no). Did I get another invitation returned for a baby shower that has already come and gone? (Answer no). What could it be? So, I rushed into the house to open up this mystery envelope that arrived in the mail. The first thing I pulled out was this. As I held it in my hand, I was thinking...what is this? Curious, I kept digging...

Ahhh, a sweet note from my mailman. What could the USPS have to say to me? Well, I found out! It seams that one of their "automated equipment" machine damaged my mail. Its comforting to know that USPS "knows how important my mail is to me and can certainly understand my disappointment."

After reading the letter, I poured out the rest of the envelope's contents. It's a wedding invitation...what's left of it anyway. The small unidentifiable piece of card stock was apparently the corner of the folded invitation. Seems the "automated equipment" tried to eat the invitation.

Most of the important information was still readable, but I did piece it back together so I could get the intended look of the invitation. After all, the invitation sets the precedence for the wedding style and expectations.

Of course, I'm not sure how the bride is going to feel when I send the response card with a huge "bite" out of the corner. Maybe I can send the not from the USPS along with it as an explanation? Maybe I should just tell her that the dog ate it? Maybe, I should call her with a verbal response?

Thank you USPS for understanding how disappointed I am in your service!

As if last Friday wasn't bad enough...

If it wasn't one thing, it was another last Friday. After spending over 1.5 hours at Urgent Care for Meg's eye issue, we get home to this mess. As I was pulling into the driveway, I noticed something had spilled out on the breezeway. I had a feeling I knew what it was...but never expected this. Although, I'm not sure which would have been worse. I thought that the washer had flooded the laundry room (which would have meant water everywhere).

Instead, my Tide bottle had jumped off my washer and exploded on the floor. It was everywhere in my laundry room and even seeping out onto the breezeway. Seriously, I cried. I did. I also screamed at the top of my lungs.

I had so much to do Friday afternoon and cleaning up laundry detergent off the floor was not on the list. What was on the list though, was working a little, packing for the ranch, and getting Meg to lay down for a little while before we headed out.

Instead, I spent the afternoon crawling around the laundry room with towels, wiping up all the laundry detergent that was slimy and after a while started to smell.

A twist on a fairy tale...

I received this from a girlfriend!!! I love it. Click on the picture below to enlarge.

My 200th Post...Memo to Mommy

I love this... (from Parents Magazine, September 2008)
Memo to Mommy:

"Stop freaking out about the mess! There's always time to clean - but how often do we get to make mud pies?"

"Love me, even when I'm naughty. I'll only be this age once."

"Be patient. I do everything for a reason, but I don't know enough words yet to give you an explanation."

"Let me do it. I know you can do it faster and better, but sometimes experience is the best teacher."

"Don't expect too much of me. I want to do what you ask and make you happy, but I'm still little."

"Don't try to reason with me when I'm having a tantrum. Trust me - I can't hear you over my own screaming."

"Keep your promises. It's all about trust. When I'm a teenager, you'll understand why it's so important."

"Don't keep asking me if I've been good. I'm not even sure what that means, but if I was bad, I'd never admit it."

"Don't let me think that you're perfect. I feel a lot better knowing I'm not the only one who makes mistakes sometimes."

"Set limits. I can't actually eat a whole box of cookies - I just want to see if I'd get away with it."

Hand foot and mouth...what?!?

Over the weekend, Meg started running a pretty high fever. I just assumed her little body was completely run down from the crazy busy week we had. Guess I was wrong. Turns out, she has hand, foot, and mouth disease.

You would think that someone would come up with a better name for a viral infection. Seriously "hand foot and mouth disease" sounds like something she should be hospitalized for. Fortunately, there is no hospitalization, only quarantine. So, Meg gets to stay home with me tomorrow.

So, what is this infection you ask...? I have of course, had time to do some research on it (the Internet is a dangerous, dangerous place for mothers).

HFMD (Hand, foot, and mouth disease) is a viral illness common in infants and children. It causes fever (yep, we had that) and blister-like eruptions in the mouth (yes, a little of that) and/or a skin rash (again, YEP). HFMD begins with a fever (yes), poor appetite (so-so), feeling run down (definitely) and a sore throat (yes - matter of fact, her throat is so red, they did a strep test while we were at the doctor - strep results...NEGATIVE).

Her day care director called me this morning to tell me that one of the little boys in Meg's class had it. Since I had told the director about Meg not feeling well over the weekend, she immediately called me to let me know about the little boy who had it.

I have to say, that the worst part of this whole mess is that she doesn't even feel bad. So, I keep telling her to rest up and drink water and she says "I'm not tired or thirsty". It's going to be a fun 24-hours :)

I'm that girl...

So, I have a confession to make. I'm that girl who - if you're toilet paper isn't coming over the top, I take it off and put it back on the "right way"...

RIGHT WAY

WRONG WAY!

How is it...

...that Megan can have a "tea cup" full of water in the bath tub and not spill a drop, but if I were to give her that in the house it would be all over the place? Today in the bath, she poured clean water out of the spout into a small purple "tea cup". The cup was full to the top. She somehow managed to drink every single drop without spilling anything.

So, imagine I give her the same cup with the same amount of liquid in it outside of the bath tub...do you know what happens? I spend 15 minutes cleaning up spilled liquid. I just don't understand!!!

Thank you Megan!

Tonight, while Megan was in my bedroom watching a movie, her RED Gatorade some how made it's way to the carpet. I have to say that she did come and tell me...however, the conversation went like this:

Meg: Puppy knocked over my Gatorade.
Me: Are you saying that you spilled Gatorade?
Meg: No, Puppy spilled it. I've already put him in time out.
Me: Is there Gatorade on my carpet? I don't care who put it there.
Meg: Ummmmm...yes, puppy spilled it.

I rushed into my room only to find that there wasn't one spill, there were two! So, I sent Meg to bed (it was past her bed time anyways) and ran to Walmart to buy the Bissell Spot Bot. OMG - I'm in love with this machine! It got the Gatorade out of the carpet. YEAH!

New job...new school

Well, since I'll be starting a new job next Monday and I'm going to have more flexibility, Jarrad and I decided that we should move Megan to a day care in Mansfield.



Today, I took Megan to La Petite Academy to see the school for herself. She liked it. I had already gone over there on Tuesday. I loved the school. It's going to be a great move for Megan. I'm sure it will take some time adjusting to a new school, a new teacher and new people, but I know she'll do great. I'm so proud of her everyday!



After we went to her new school, we went to Michael's to the "Tiny Tot" craft class. She got to make a beautiful necklace. She had a lot of fun.

This is Meg's new thing. She does it all the time and it's starting to drive me CRAZY!!!

If Taylor were a girl :)

Isn't he pretty! I always wanted a sister.