stuff about school.

Today is the first day this summer where I had a brief moment of "I kind of miss school". It's funny because I have a very sensitive nose - and today as I was driving with the windows open I caught a scent that reminded me of a building on campus. That's all it took really and then all the sudden I caught myself thinking "I guess I kind of miss it".

Now I realize that after reading my posts for a month straight where I complained (you could maybe even call it whining) about how badly I wanted to be done with school - you might feel upset that I have all the sudden changed my mind with summer only partly over. Don't fret - this happens every school year.

About March I get tired (don't all students), stressed, and frazzled. All the sudden there is so much to do, and not enough time. So by the time school gets out I have hardly any student left in me and all I want to do is lay in the sun all day and go swimming with the boys. Then about July I start to miss everything that I love about school. So here we are right on schedule.

Don't get me wrong though. I plan on soaking up every minute of summer sun I can. I plan on loving up every moment of the summer fun with my little guys. I'm just glad that I am starting to feel up to the challenge of another school year once again, even though this year I'll be taking it much easier than last. Only 12 credits! That is a whole five credits less than last year - plus I worked it out so I only have to physically be on campus two days a week. Yay!

Why the slow down? Last year spring was hard. And I love a good challenge - but it wasn't even like that. I spread myself too thin. I wasn't able to do the things I love to do in the way I wanted to, simply because there was too much to get done. Not this year. I am going to narrow my focus and really devote my time to doing the best I can, rather than the most I can.

But for now I am off to build a sandcastle with my loves.

Until next time,

Carmen



a blender of blessings. all over my house.

This. Exactly this. I love my boys dearly - with all of my heart and all that I am. BUT I also love me a clean house. This is where the problem lies, I'll show you ... 

2 year old +  4 year old = constant mess.

See what I mean? It just happens that way I think. I have never been too worried about the mess that comes with children. I know some women really have a hard time with kid clutter- luckily I am not usually one of them. Like I've mentioned before the house is clean - but not always neat. There is a difference.

The weekend has been a good one! It has been a hot and humid couple of days. While we did spend a lot of time outside these past couple of days, but I am feeling incredibly grateful for my central air. There is something so wonderful about coming in from a hot afternoon into a nice cool house.. 

I am feeling very grateful these days. It is quite a humble feeling. I have been blessed with health, a wealth of love, and a life full of wonderful people. While I always 'count my blessings', recently I have really been soaking them all up. It is wonderful to really step back and truly appreciate what I have - even the mess.

More tomorrow,

Carmen





anyway.

It's a tad fuzzy so I will quote it here:

"People are often unreasonable, illogical, and self centered.

Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish motives.

Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some false friends and true enemies.

Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and sincere, people may deceive you.

Be honest and sincere anyway.

What you spend years building, some could destroy overnight;

Build anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous;

Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow;

Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have and it may never be enough;

Give them your best anyway.

In the final analysis, it is between you and God;

It never was between you and them anyway."

- Mother Teresa

I love everything about this. Obviously this woman knew what was up. I think sometimes it gets so easy to get selfish. "Why should I go out of my way to do a good thing when nobody else is going to notice?" or "Why should I go out of my way to be kind and honest when it doesn't seem important here?" Well, because it is the right thing to do.  That's why.

I thought this was fitting tonight because I was trying to explain this concept to Christian earlier (and let me tell you that it was not well received). Nolan is two - and two can be terrible. I think the most patient of souls can feel frazzled by the typical two year old boy, and Christian is no exception.

When playing with toys after dinner a rumble broke out between the little men - and when I finally managed to pry them off of each other Christian announced that he was no longer going to share his toys because Nolan doesn't ever share either. That is when I tried my hardest to explain to him that we should always try our best to be fair - even when others are not being even a little bit nice.

He didn't buy it. At all. Again I remind myself that he is four and he will learn. Especially because I plan on drilling that one into his brain - simply because I think it is that important.

Enough brain food for now.

Until next time,

Carmen



dad stuff.

(this post is again all gushy and wonderful - for good reason)

I love holidays. Love 'em to bits - pretty much each and every one. It is a wonderful reason to rejoice with family, make good food, and have a celebratory attitude all day long. Father's Day is a new event for me. In fact this will only be the fourth year that I have actually celebrated this wonderful holiday. Growing up it was always me and my mom - and it was just fine that way. But one thing I never did (obviously!) was celebrate Father's Day.


I take most holidays very seriously, but this one especially. I want to make sure that Yosi knows how much we love him on a day to day basis. I want to make sure that he knows just how much we appreciate all that he does for us. But this is his day. Father's Day. The day to celebrate just what a wonderful dad he is.

There is many perks to being a mother- too many to count. But when it really boils down to it, one of the best parts of being a mom is watching the man I love be an incredible dad. And he is just that - an incredible dad. I am blessed to have him as my husband, and our sons are blessed to have him as their dad.

Now you are probably wondering what we did to celebrate such a fantastic dad today. Truth is: we did nothing. Yosi had a big job at work so he worked ALL weekend. Poor guy is tuckered out. So we will celebrate officially tomorrow. I will let you know how it goes.

Until then,
Carmen

the most unfun of all.

I have posted before about having sick kids. Christian has struggled this year with respiratory problems and it has been hard on all of us. Luckily, those issues are well controlled at the moment and he is a healthy and happy little guy.

This past couple of days my little Nolan has been sick. Not the common cold kind of sick, but viral pneumonia kind of sick. There is a terrible, heart wrenching, ache that comes over me when one of the boys is sick. I think it is something that all parents have in common. That terrible feeling in the pit of your stomach that happens when one of your own babies is ill.

On a day to day basis there are lots of things that matter: keeping the house, making yummy food, my daily trips to the gym, being witty and hilarious, you know - things like that. When I have a sick child, the only thing that matters at all is making sure that child gets well. It is like tunnel vision. The past few days have been consumed with making sure that Nolan is getting better.

I am growing in my faith all the time. It is something I continuously work on. When the boys are sick I feel conflicted. My heart hurts. On one hand, I want to put my faith in God and know that he will pull us through. On the other hand, I can't seem to take that leap of faith and just put my trust in God to bring us to the other side of the difficult time.

As a mom I admit that I sometimes I feel like I am the only one who can do things the right way for my little guys. Maybe that is the reason that when they are sick I feel as though it is up to me to worry them back to health. That is where I am wrong... but worrying is part of what moms do - whether her babies are sick or not. See what I mean?! Conflicted.

Anyhow, after a draining couple of days my littlest guy is perking right back up and things are getting back to normal around here. My house is slowly recovering from a 3 day cleaning hiatus. It's amazing how quickly a mess can accumulate in such a tiny home... 

 In other news, we just celebrated Yos's birthday here. The day itself was spent at the hospital where Nolan had chest x-rays and two blood draws. After that, the we all were pretty well spent. We lounged at home and I did the best I could to make a celebratory dinner and cake, but both of our minds were on the little guy. Luckily, we spent the Saturday before at the lake celebrating the big 23 with a day full of fun in the sun.

Well, this was enough to report for one day.

More next time,
Carmen

the possibility of craftiness.

Tell me that is not the cutest little craft idea you have ever seen!? It is not my idea (thank you pinterest), but I am surely going to do this with the boys. Adorable. I have been feeling crafty these days. If you know me you are probably laughing - but hear me out. We were given this amazing older dresser and I want to refinish it to make it more suitable for the boys' room. And I want to make them some valences for their windows. And I want to do something new with my kitchen cabinets. See! I don't know what happened - maybe it's the summer air.

Yosi turns 23 on the 11th. I tease him that he is getting old. I kid I kid! We are not anywhere near old - but it is odd to think back on wishing him a happy 17th birthday.. How time flies when you are having fun.

The weekend is upon us! I can already tell you that it is going to be a fun one. Tomorrow we will celebrate Yosi's birthday with an afternoon on the beach and dinner from the grill. Sunday I hope to get started on my dresser project, catch up with some laundry, read, and just enjoy the day with all 3 of my guys.

I will let you all know how it goes - probably with some adorable mini-men pictures. Until then I'll leave you with a verse that I have been thinking alot about lately.

"I will praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are your works, and my soul knows very well. Psalm 139:14"

love that one.

Until next time,
Carmen



a sad post.

Every once and a while you come across people to have a lasting impact on your life.. The kind that you remember forever. The kind of people you admire and respect. The kind of people you hope to become.

I used to be a waitress. I was 17 and newly married. It was a tough job - long hours, too many people with short tempers, and not enough that tipped appropriately. There was a regular couple that visited the restaurant at least once a day. They were old, happy, hilarious, and very obviously in love. They had been regulars there for many years, and they were just as much a part of the Fryn Pan family as the staff was. Last year half of that couple passed away. She had mild dementia that had caught up with her. It was terribly sad when she passed - but I think the hardest thing was watching him as his heart ached. She was the love of his life.

He died on Sunday. It makes my heart heavy. I find comfort knowing that neither one is suffering and their hearts have met again. I pray that their family can find peace in this impossibly difficult time. They were the kind of people who will forever stay in my heart.

Rest in peace Mr. and Mrs. Williams. You showed me what true love looks like after 56 years of marriage. You taught me about the kind of wife I wanted to become. You were proof that it really can happen. You will not be forgotten. And no, we do not serve buffalo rump roast sandwiches.

Until next time,
Carmen



sun. finally.

Truth be told I share my home with some pretty fantastic people. I have had many different homes in my life. I moved around a lot as a child, and in my adult life I have lived in a few different places as well. That doesn't matter much. The house is just a thing. A container. It is what is inside that counts. And as luck would have it, the contents of my house are pretty much the best. Ever.

I have been a slacker at blogging this week. I wish I could say that it was because of gorgeous weather and many outdoor activities - but that would be a lie. It rained nearly all week, a yucky chilly rain. Yesterday FINALLY we saw the sun again. To celebrate we went to the beach, and today we hit up the pool. It has been a fantastic weekend to a terribly blah week. That gets me back to my point. It was a blah week without much to report, but this week I'll be back to the ole blog like usual.

Oh yeah I almost forgot. My kids are cute. I know that all moms say this, but really they are. They are especially cute when they are laughing/playing/smiling/covered in sand. See for yourself:

Nolan.

Christian.

monkey see monkey do.

Until next time,

Carmen