Balance

I find the older I get, the less of it I seem to have.

The kiddo and I were at the gym again today and after he'd had me do a crazy challenging upper body workout, he wanted me to work on my core...and my arms a tad more...just for fun.

He wanted me to stand on this upside down half sphere thingie while doing arm work with dumbbells. Well, I could not manage to get on that thing no matter how hard I tried. So the kid gave me his shoulder and after a couple of tries I was able to stand on it as it wobbled fiercely. And then he handed me the dumbbells. I teetered. I tottered. But somehow I managed stay on board.

Little guy: "You did great, mom."

I love that kid!

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Cat Nap Love

Our cats love to take naps...no surprise, they are cats!

While they typically nap within a few feet of one another, I caught those two having the most love-filled nap ever. Yup, those two tabby cats were loving their nap so much, loving each other so much, and loving snuggling so much that they actually formed a heart.

Love my boys!

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Trio

I took a lovely nap this afternoon. I love a weekend nap!

When I got into bed our kitten, Tommy, was there. I pulled him under the covers, lay his head on my shoulder, and he and I blissfully slept. I stirred at some point, opened my eyes and saw our big dog, Hazel, beside us and I drifted back to sleep. My little guy came in the room and got on my bed to snuggle with Hazel and I saw that at some point our old cat, Pug, had joined the napping party.

I love my fuzzy sleep Trio!

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Asleep

You know how when your kids were little you could just stare at them for hours on end...as they played, as they ate, as they sang and danced. But once they become teenagers if you attempt to stare at them, you're greeted with, "What are you looking at?!?!"

So while I'm not always a huge fan of teenage hormones, I have to say that I've found a perk that I particularly love...the "sleeping in" perk. When I go into their rooms at noon on the weekends to wake them up so they can finally start their day, I'm afforded uninterrupted staring time. I can leisurely take in the serenity of their sleeping faces, the way they sleep as though they know they're safe, the shadow of a mustache appearing, and the small twitches of their dreaming eyes. Occasionally they'll wake up and catch me, admonishing me with a "You're creepy, mom!" But most of the time I'm able to lean in and kiss their cheek to wake them up.

Pure mommy bliss.

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Just Stay Asleep

The little guy and I are taking a trip to California in a couple of days.  As I got him up this morning for before-school wrestling practice, here's how it went.


Little guy:  "What time does our flight leave?"

Me:  "Around 7 AM."

Little guy:  "Ugh."

Me:  "But we have to get there an hour before that, so we'll have to wake up around 5 AM."

Little guy:  "Ugh!!  You're going to push me around in one of those luggage carts so I can just stay asleep, right?"

Me:  "Um...nope."

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Good Vibrations

I took a nap today.  It was simply delicious!

Our kitten, Tommy, also took a nap...right beside me, on his back, feet up in the air. Hazel, our big dog, was there on the bed, too.  Oh, and a bunch of clean laundry.

It was crowded, but that didn't stop any of us from getting some blissful Zs.

Especially Tommy.  He was sleeping so well and so happily that he actually woke me up with his good vibrations.  That little guy was purring in his sleep so intensely that his back paws were actually vibrating.

I couldn't resist videotaping him.  These are his back paws...ya, just ignore the pile of laundry in the background.  We've been ignoring it all day, too.

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What Sleep Brings

So the little guy has been attending a summer fitness camp thing.  I would have thought that he'd be raring to go in the mornings...you know, wake up easily, jump out of bed, gleefully get ready, happily eat a hearty breakfast, and give me a hug, kiss, and "I love you" when I dropped him off (after all, I'm getting up super early for his summer thing, too.).  But, no.  We grog our way through all those steps and I merely receive a grunt when I tell him "I love you!" at drop off.

But today we were rewarded with a little whimsy, a bit of humor as the fairies and elves had obviously been up to mischief whilst we slept.

The kid got up (after multiple requests).

The kid got dressed (under duress).

The kid ate one fourth of a bagel (with minimal resistance).

And as we walked out the door and he was shoving his phone in his shorts, "Hey, there's a teeny, tiny sock in my pocket!" And he tossed my sock on the table.


...and I just smiled figuring I'd keep the fairies and elves that live in our house my own little secret.

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Sweet Dreams

I've been taking a wonderful year-long online class, Dancing with your Dreams. I completed this piece just this afternoon and soon it will find its home over our bed.

It's layer upon delightful layer...colors, symbols, fun, whimsy, and love. 

Ooh, and it's my biggest canvas to date, 24" x 30", not counting our hallway, of course. Hmmmm...I don't know if bigger is better, but it sure is fun!  Come on by and visit me and my paintings!!

Sweet dreams!

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50% off of everything in my Daily Paintworks shop through the end of the month.  
Email me the one(s) you want and I'll adjust the price.  Thanks!!!  kalilparsons@gmail.com
 

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The Best Nap Ever!

I had the best nap ever today!  Seriously, it's one of those naps that will go down in my history book as the best nap I've ever had.  I was concerned that I'd go about the rest of the day, heck, the rest of my life like that girl in "American Pie" who went on and on about "that time at band camp" if I didn't just get it down on paper screen.

So here's the scoop.  (Because I know you want to know.)  The nap rocked.  It wasn't just one of my regular fifteen to twenty minute catnaps.  Nope.  It as a glorious two-and-a-half hour, solid, blissful snooze.  And here's why I think it happened.  I didn't just crawl into bed with all my clothes on ('cept shoes, of course).  I changed back into my PJs.  My mind, body, and soul knew that this girl was committed.  And so did my old cat, Pug, my young dog, Hazel, and my old dog, Scout...because by the time I woke up, Pug was nestled in by my face with my arm around him, Hazel was at the foot of the bed snoring, and Scout was asleep on the floor as close to the bed as she could get. 

And the cherry on top?  I woke up rested, not zombified.  And with a teeny, tiny flower on my sheets that had fallen off of Pug.

OK, I might just have to tell you in person about my best nap ever...because it was just so awesome.  Feel free to point somewhere behind me whilst saying, "Look!", and run far, far away from me if I bring it up.  I promise I'll understand.

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Officially "Vintage"

Spent a lovely day celebrating birthdays with my mom today.  We ate good grub and then we went shopping at a vintage store.  I went through rack after rack finding tons of amazing things that were way too high maintenance for little old me (i.e. required dry cleaning and/or ironing), but happily, I did find a few must-haves.  At one point we were chatting it up with one of the owners and she mentioned that they're getting stuff from the 80s and earlier because they are a "vintage" store, after all.

Um...80s, eh?  So the clothes I wore in high school are now considered "vintage"?  What?  And then I looked at my mom and thought, "No, clothes from when she was in high school are 'vintage'.  That's how it's always been."  But I kept my pursed "vintage" mouth shut and figured that, hey, I've got some stuff in my closet that's officially worth something.

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She Dreams

I've shaken up my routine lately.  Dave got us gym memberships and I've been doing that for a while now...which meant I blew off all the dog walking I was doing. 

(Insert image in your mind of my dogs pouting.)

Well, last night I returned to the land of dog walking.

(Insert image in your mind of my dogs smiling.)

And instead of having my ear buds in with NPR shows playing, I heard birds and wind and the pitter patter of my dogs' feet.  Instead of being in my own little world, I made eye contact with others and said, "Hello."  Instead of absorbing thoughts of other authors' stories, I was able to be lost in the creation of my own.

Blissful sigh...she dreams.

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The Mighty Power of the Pile

There's a HUGE pile of laundry on our bed.  Its life for the past few days has been "all over the bed during the day" and "back in the hampers" at night.  This in and out cycle has happened at least three times now.

Well, I thought that surely, today was going to be my day to finally tackle that pile.  But I found that I could not.  You see, the cats have taken up residency on our bed...on the pile.  Cats are clearly rendered helpless in the presence of clean laundry piles and must take long recovery naps.

And what kind of person would mess with that?

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Hippie Chick Fail

A funny thing happened at the store today.  I was walking around, holding my phone, checking off items on our shopping list that Dave and I had entered (we're geeky, we can both enter things and it combines it as one list), and a nice super market guy asked me, "You need any help finding anything?"


Me:  "No, I've got it, thanks."

Super market guy:  "I just noticed that you were looking at your phone for a while."

Me:  "My shopping list is on it.  I was checking things off."


And then I realized that while my goal was to be a hyper environmentally conscious paperless, canvas bag carrying mama, in reality I was just one of the masses who walks around not engaging with others because they're so focused on their hand held technology.

Hippie chick fail.

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Feeling Festive about "Finally"

On this particular eve I'm reminded of all the years of very little sleep I've had.  Of waiting for my children to finally fall asleep...so I could finally excavate all the toys I'd hidden...so I could finally place them just so in the living room...so I could finally go to bed...so my kids could wake up way too early and bug me till I finally got back out of bed to share the joy with them.

Good times were had, indeed.

And now that they're teenagers I precede them at bedtime and at rise.  Finally.


I wish everyone a happy holiday season celebrating in all the amazing ways that you do.  I hope you are with those you love, doing something you enjoy.


...and this little polar bear is ready to hibernate.

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Eleven Scariest Words Ever!

I went to bed last night, snuggled under the covers, my little guy came in to give me a hug...which somehow very much resembled a wrestling hold but I chose to love it anyway...and once alone I drifted off.  Almost, anyway.


Dave:  "Hey, Kal...the kitten has a cockroach.  Don't let him on the bed."

Me:  "WHAT?!?!?!"


Worst sweet nothings said to me at bedtime.  Ever.

shudder

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List Happy

I love lists!

I'm a list girl, heart and soul.  I have a "to do" list on my fridge.  I have a "to do" list on my desk at work.  I keep a running shopping list for five different stores on my phone.  That last one makes me feel super high tech.

And what I love even more than the actual lists is the crossing off part.  Just this afternoon I was loving this process...out loud.


Me:  "I made the call about the blender.  I reconciled the checking account.  I cut the pineapple.  I finished making the tea.  I made the rice.  I'm exercising right now."

Dave:  "You're talking out loud."


Hmmmm...me thinks he wants me to add "talking out loud" to my daily "to do" list.  Can do!


Oh, and now I can cross off "write blog".  Woo hoo!  This girl is pro-duc-tive!

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