About Shanda

wife, mom of seven, friend, child of God

grandma wants to stay home

Posted on October 21, 2017 by Shanda

Saturday morning.

I have bread dough rising. I’m wearing a cute outfit and feeling young and healthy. My daughter Sarah is in her own little world on the floor and I hear her say to herself as she busily works at taking a fancy dress off her doll, “I’m going to teach Bitty Baby to do a CARTWHEEL.” I get the camera because she’s cute and she holds up her babies and sings, “Hi Grandma!!!!!!”

It takes me a second and then I realize.

She just called me Grandma.

I’m also annoyed because my dough has an hour to rise and my husband just told me I have to ride along all the way to the airport so he can pick up a big van from the rental place and drive it home. (I say annoyed but we are laughing about it. I’m whining, “I want to stay home!!!!” and he’s not listening to me and saying, “Too bad!!”)

seth was creative

Posted on October 18, 2017 by Shanda

I took these pictures of Seth at five o’clock yesterday evening. The boys were getting ready for football practice and Seth was taking much longer than usual to get dressed. When he appeared I took one look at him and noticed he had mysterious blue socks on….no one in the family has socks like this…..did he actually have the nerve to borrow someone’s socks?….no, wait….those aren’t socks….those are sleeves….did he cut the sleeves off his blue underarmour layering shirt??????????? He insisted that he had not. I started using my “tell me right now I need to know what is going on” voice (similar to an excitedly squealing pig). When it all became oh so clear, I took him outside to take photos.

“You better not post these anywhere,” he said.

“When you do something like this, it’s going to be on the blog,” I replied.

Taking his photo proved to be as difficult as IT ALWAYS IS with Seth. He cannot stay still.

Although he has the looks to be one, he will never be a career fashion model. As soon as I “see” the perfect photo through the viewfinder of my camera, but before I can push the button, he has moved. I have to use high speed settings and much patience. However, I persevered this time and got some good ones, all to show you his creativity. Genius.

Notice the “SOCKS”:

THEY WEREN’T SOCKS

THEY WERE SLEEVES.

IT WAS AN ENTIRE SHIRT.

(and yes he went to practice that way)

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this morning

Posted on October 17, 2017 by Shanda

(woolly bear caterpillar on the road)

Amanda came over for a few hours this morning. She brought her dog Lloyd. The three of us went on a nice walk together.

The air was crisp and clean. The kind of morning when you want to breath deep.

my sister ~ my friend

scenes from the neighborhood

“For there is no friend like a sister
In calm or stormy weather;
To cheer one on the tedious way,
To fetch one if one goes astray,
To lift one if one totters down,
To strengthen whilst one stands”
~Christina Rossetti

“How beautifully leaves grow old.
How full of light and color are their last days.” ~John Burroughs

My sister almost stepped on a lizard!

I was so thrilled and promptly took photos from every angle.

I looked it up when we got home and discovered it was a “Spotted Salamander” and Connecticut’s largest salamander.

Just look at the spots!

Maybe it was trying to find a little warmth on the road? But the road is a very unsafe place to be, so I saved its little life by putting it in the leaves on the edge of the woods.

heading back home

I made pumpkin cookies this morning, too, from a 1972 Pennsylvania State Grange cookbook.

If anyone knows Mrs. Robert Conaway tell her I used sunflowers seeds instead of nuts, and I also included one egg. They were delicious.

friday

Posted on October 13, 2017 by Shanda

“Amazing grace! how sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost but now am found,
Was blind but now I see.”
John Newton

sarah’s hair

Posted on October 12, 2017 by Shanda

Everyone knows that one of the many job descriptions of “MOM” is “HAIR STYLIST” whether she wants to be or not, it’s inevitable.

As I look through the recent photos I have taken with my phone I see a theme developing. It all started on Monday night when my young daughter/hair client came to me with a case of the grumps AND tangles.

“Get a brush, Sarah, and I’ll brush your hair nice and soft,” I said.

I brushed and brushed and she just loved it. It was very relaxing to sit and have a super wonderful mom hair stylist gently brush her long hair.

I admired how pretty it was, clean and sweet smelling, with little waves and a variety of color, everything from blond to dark brown.

I took a picture to show her how long it was getting.

I held up the blondest piece and the brownest piece and took another photo. I even called Rich over to look, “Rich, look how pretty Sarah’s hair is.”

We remember when she was a toddler and she was practically bald, it took years for her to get any length to speak of. In fact, her siblings called her “Baldo” now and then.

Sarah went to bed that night feeling much better.

The next evening after school she walked over to me and raved, “Moooooooom, Ariana came to school today with bluuuuuuuuuue hairrrrrrrrrrr.” Sarah had been quite impressed by it. I knew what was coming….sure enough, I found her five minutes later, digging through the crayons looking for her hair chalk that we bought a couple years ago. “I found it! Can you put blue and pink in my hair before school tomorrow?”

“Only if you pay me in a five minute hug, a happy smile, and a kiss on the cheek.”

(A good hair stylist ALWAYS prices her services accordingly.)

Naturally I had to take a photo to show my youngest client her hair and to make sure it was just what she desired. I only get paid if it’s done right. “It needs a little more blue, please.” I colored a few more streaks and off to school she went.

When she came back home, I noticed the pony tail was out and her hair was all over the place again. She and her brothers grabbed a snack and then ran next door to play with the neighbors.

About 45 minutes later, the Dad next door came to the house with Caleb by his side and Sarah walking a few steps behind looking distressed, with her hand on her head. They stopped to explain what had happened but Sarah kept going into the bathroom. I noticed a long piece of hair in Brian’s hand. “I was in the house when the boys came running to tell me that Sarah needed help. She was on the swing and her hair was caught in the chain. I got her all untangled but……yeah, she has a little bald spot on the top of her head now.”

Brian and Caleb left to go back next door and I reminded Caleb to come home in 10 minutes for dinner…………

Then I turned to go check on Sarah’s hair. I may or may not have been laughing. I encouraged her that it really wasn’t that bad and I knew just how to fix it so no one would know. Soon she was happily playing on the kindle with her hair brushed back into a pony tail, with lots and lots of hair spray in front.

(As this was a true need, I didn’t request payment.)

Here is a photo of Sarah’s bald spot before school this morning, right before her most talented hair stylist worked on it.

And here is a photo of her happy smile afterwards; priceless.

depths and riches

Posted on October 11, 2017 by Shanda

Our daughter Grace is doing very well at college. To no ones surprise she is handling things with cheerfulness and above all, quiet confidence. She enjoys her classes, has a pet fish named Snape, recently got a care package from her boyfriend, joined the volleyball team, has time to read her favorite books, was asked to volunteer once a week as a student editor in the english department, and has had achieved high grades on her writing. She is a secondary English education major.

She is attending a Christian university in Pennsylvania and before she left I told her it would be the most wonderful experience…..to be surrounded by classmates and teachers with the same foundational beliefs. There are still many many differences in personalities and non-essential beliefs (which is a good and wonderful thing) but to be with so many others who first and foremost love Jesus….wow what a blessing. She is learning so much.

I knew she would love it because before Rich and I were married I was able to squeeze in one year of Bible college at a local school in New York. I lived on campus and had such fun. In fact, that is when I met my forever friend Joanna. She was doing the same one year program before marrying Steve. We had a lot in common and got to know each other throughout that year.

One of the blessings of my Christian college experience was the dorm Mom. I absolutely loved her…..instantly I knew she was someone I could trust and talk to about anything. And all of us girls felt the same way. She was an older lady with grown children and a husband who was a Professor on campus and she took all the students under her wing, especially us girls. She talked with us about Jesus, showed us the love of Jesus in her care for us, and also talked to us conversationally about what it meant to be a godly woman, wife, and mother. I remember sitting under the trees outside as she spoke gently and with a great sense of humor and love to a handful of us engaged girls about practical “newlywed” type of information….everything from laundry to the bedroom. Even thought I also had the best upbringing of my own dear mom, I appreciated it Mom P’s extra knowledge much. She was an excellent dorm Mom. In one of her notes to me she wrote, “I do not push myself on anyone, but any who want me, can have me.” And that is certainly how I felt around her….”she’s a friend, she loves me, she cares.”

After I was married I continued to keep in touch with her. When Rich and I had our second child I experienced Post Partum Depression. At the time I didn’t have the name for what I was feeling –but it was terrible–and my dear Dad encouraged me to go and talk with Mom P. So I did. I remember sitting in her office and soaking up her encouragement and love. And most of all I remember how she took newborn Ethan in her arms and we walked downstairs to the cafeteria where she happily showed him off to everyone.

After Rich and I moved away from the area I sent her Christmas cards and I believe I talked to her once on the phone, or maybe in an email, asking for a church recommendation, and we had a nice time catching up.

Then FB became a “thing” with people of all ages and she and I found each other on Facebook….she continued to show an interest in me….asking about the kids, loving the photos, showing true interest and joy in my life.

She and her husband retired a little while back and moved further south and I felt a twinge of sadness knowing she “wasn’t there” at the college any longer. To me, she was something of a college institution and should never leave it. 🙂

This story is getting longer and longer, I just wanted to tell you a bit about Mom P, because I had the best surprise last week.

In each dorm building at Grace’s school there is a set of “parents” who are there to provide any type of basic need that a student might have in the dorms….a married couple to stand in the gap for the students who are away from their real parents for probably the first time. I met Grace’s dorm parents when we moved her into her room and it was a good feeling to know that they were there, living with their young daughter just down the hall from Grace and all the other dorm girls. I saw a bunch of photos that Grace’s dorm Mom took of “her” girls on their first few days of school.

So imagine my complete and utter surprise when my own Mom P. sent me a message on FB on October 3rd:

Hi dear Shanda, I just met your sweet daughter Grace. She is in my son & d-I-loves dorm. They are wonderful with the girls if I do say so. Grace is so precious and beautiful like her Mom!! Look forward to seeing her more this week!! God bless you all!

and from Grace:

“My dorm Dad is Mrs. P’s son. I just met her and she told me all about how amazing you are.”

OF COURSE after laughing and crying at the same time I BEGGED FOR A PHOTO:

When I sent the photo and little story to Dad via texting, this was his reply:

“Oh the depths and the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God……..”

beginning with the nighttime moon

Posted on October 10, 2017 by Shanda

“Oh, if there’s only one song I can sing,
When in His beauty I see the great King,
This shall my song through eternity be,
“Oh, what a wonder that Jesus loves me!” ~Philip Bliss

This hymn is stuck in my head this morning and I’m just so happy because today I have absolutely nothing pressing…..in the last week this family has had a total of 10 appointments (mostly dental, one doctor, and others) and I’m ready to have a peace-full morning instead of getting ready to go…….I’m a home-bird…..

I have a steaming Scarlet fiesta mug of green tea on the coffee table in front of me, and a curled up chocolate lab snoring by my side on the couch and I’m ready to let my fingers tippety tap along the keyboard….I love blogging…everyone should do it. Life is so interesting.

Last week, Rich was gone on a business trip for five days straight and our college son Ethan was home for the week, too. After Caleb’s dentist appointment and right before his doctor’s appointment, we had time to sit at the bookstore and drink hot coffee beverages.

(Caleb had no cavities but was put on antibiotics for a sinus infection).

(a page from the latest Victoria magazine–I was so tired last week that I had to read this quote like 5 times before it made sense. And… Seth, waiting for the bus one morning).

Hanging out on the porch with Sarah. She was blowing the whistle CONSTANTLY.

She gets to learn how to play the recorder next year at school and the whistle is a tiny recorder. So she would blow and then take a break to say things like “Can I buy my own recorder, Mom?” “I’m going to get a pink one.” “Did Caleb buy his?” “Where is it?” “What color was it?” “Seth doesn’t bring his home.” “He doesn’t like to play it.” and so on.

These muffins were yummy.

Rich took this at the football games on Sunday.

Reading on the porch with my kitty.

Ethan was home all last week and so (because I’m a good mom) I thoughtfully made him a dentist appointment for a cleaning. (he was less than thrilled because has bad luck always at the dentist). He drove himself. I was at the grocery store when they called me, “Hello we have Ethan here and he has a couple cavities that he didn’t get filled last time and the dentist has time to do them now if you’d like us to do that?” And naturally I said, “Oh yes, that would be awesome, and please have the Doctor check Ethan’s gray front tooth.” Then we hung up. After another hour or so, Ethan came home with his eyes sad and face blank. He put his papers from the dentist down on the counter. Ethan doesn’t talk much so I had to pry. “What did they say about your tooth?” “They said the roots are a little shorter and it might fall out eventually so I have to go to a specialist to get it looked at.” I ran over to the referral paper, and called the number right away just to see if perhaps they could get him in while he was home. And yes, they were able to get him an appointment on Thursday.

So Thursday came. The appointment was at 8:30 in the morning. As soon as the kids left on the bus at 7:30, Ethan and I got in the car to head to his appointment, which was on the other side of Hartford. Ugh busy city traffic. We had no time to go through the Dunkin Donuts drive- thru. So we battled on through the traffic and got to the Endodontist with just enough time to park, find the office, and fill out papers.

Ethan was called to the back for his appointment and I followed, simply because, like I said, Ethan doesn’t talk much and I wanted ALL the information. The dentist took an X-ray, and tapped on his front teeth. Then he held a tiny piece of cotton with his dentist tongs and sprayed icy cold air on it. “I’m going to put this on your tooth and you raise your hand when the pain is unbearable, okay Ethan?” He pressed the cotton on Ethan’s gray tooth and Ethan never raised his hand. “The reason you feel no pain is because that front tooth is dead,” the dentist explained. “You will need a root canal and then eventually we can bleach the inside of the tooth the next time you are home from college. I can’t just put the bleach in it this week or you might end up with a brilliantly refrigerator white tooth and that would be worse than the gray. I need to check the bleaching process every few days so we can take the bleach out once that tooth matches the other ones.” Wow, this was getting interesting. Ethan didn’t say a word.

We left with a root canal appointment for the very next day. Ethan’s bad luck at the dentist continued but you know what? It had to be done and it is all done now. The two of us had breakfast together that morning and then went to the mall and consoled ourselves with new shirts (Jcrew for him and Anthro for me). Rich came home that night and took Ethan the next day for the root canal and now he’s all set until he can get his tooth bleached.

Why was his tooth gray in the first place you might ask? He cannot remember the injury, but at some point when he was younger he bumped the tooth hard enough for it to die. With seven children and five of them boys, it’s a wonder any of them have white teeth. Seth had a gray tooth for a time, too, but it was a baby one and fell out. My brother David says Ethan should just get a gold tooth and be done with it.

I bought this vintage wool hook rug at an antique store this weekend….it’s now on the pantry floor and I love it. I’ve been waiting for just the right throw rug for my pantry. The outer part of the rug is dark gray, then a beautiful dark blue and light blue design, with light gray after that and a bunch of bright flowers in the middle. The blue matches the blue glass bottles in the window.

YESTERDAY it was Seth and Sarah’s turn at the dentist……(and tomorrow is my turn).

For prizes, they got teeth.

And then we went to the grocery store. I made them leave the teeth in the car and when we were checking out, Sarah turned to Seth and cried, “Seth, we can go to the car and put our teeth in now!”

Back at home…… (with a fogged up camera lens again, it was so damp and rainy)

David was on the roof.

He was bouncing a small basketball off the house and trying to make a basket down below, with the help of Caleb and Seth. He made it once.

(I took this one through the window)

It was pouring rain.

Last night my husband went downstairs to check on Seth, who was crying in the basement. He and Caleb had been fooling around. David and I looked at each other with alarm when we heard Rich yell, “DON’T PLAY FOOTBALL IN THE HOUSE!!!!!!!!!!” and Sarah came running upstairs laughing. “What happened? Sarah, tell me!” “Seth hit his head again and it’s bleeding a little bit right here,” she pointed to her head, “on the side of his head.”

Sure enough, Rich marched Seth upstairs, who already had a goose egg forming next to his temple on his forehead, and got him an ice pack.

This morning it already looked much better, but you can see the remainder of his injury next to his eye. (he had a bump up higher on his temple, and a scrape by his eye). I mean, at least it wasn’t his tooth.

7:15 this morning as I put away the dishes. “Mom, take a picture!”

Kids left on the bus. All is calm, all is bright.

The sun is shining! After a long weekend of rain, it is pure delight.

We end with the morning moon.

Happy Tuesday, friends.
You are loved.

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home happenings

Posted on October 9, 2017 by Shanda

Good morning! It’s good to be home, my children are home…..for it’s Columbus Day.

“One misty moisty morning, when cloudy was the weather……”

That’s us this morning, rainy and cloudy, cozy and cool inside, oh so beautiful outside.

The colors are always so vivid with a washing.

EVERYTHING outdoors is covered in a fine coating of dew. My camera lens instantly fogged up, making a lovely “filter” for these orange flowers in the garden.

I wanted to show you the trenches in the lawn. Rich wants to heat the garage with propane and I said, “Only if you bury the tank.”

We are also having the upstairs bathroom remodeled and it is currently gutted down to the bare boards.

Seth and Caleb both had a game this weekend, and as their parents we were so very proud of them but alas both teams suffered losses this time. And as it was damp and a little drizzly, we spent most of Seth’s game sitting in the truck. The weather for Caleb’s game was nice so we sat in our chairs, side by side, while Seth, Sarah and David ran around and played with their friends. I ate TERRIBLE yesterday……not only a dunkin donut but also a reeses pb cup. My chin feels a little extra dumpily today. But oh, so good.

After Caleb’s game, Rich went right down to wait for his son, ready to comfort and encourage after a tough loss.

“The gardener knows the seasons better than other people, for he tells time by Nature’s world, by what the garden yields each week or month. It has given us a purposeful feeling to complete the cycle, to know the beginning and the end.” ~Home Gardener’s Cookbook

I found this 1974 vintage cookbook/gardening book recently. It made a pleasant “porch read” this weekend while sitting in my rocking chair. (Along with the book Gentleman Gray used as a pillow). Always have to be reading…..how about you? Any engrossing recommendations?

This morning was an excellent morning for muffins. And so,

(yes I gave him one)

“Mom, these muffins are GOOD!” ~Seth
“EVERYTHING Mom makes is good!” ~Caleb
“Thank you, boys!” ~Mom

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snuggles

Posted on October 5, 2017 by Shanda

I just have to laugh and keep going…..it’s been one of those super busy weeks with Rich away on a business trip since Sunday. (He returns today).

My favorite part of the week thus far has been Tuesday night when everything was accomplished for the day but to tuck the children in bed. I was sitting at the end of the couch under a blanket and along came Seth and then Sarah, one squeezed in on each side. The three of us snuggled and they chatted to each other and to me. I was so drowsy and their little gentle touches to my hair, my earrings (Seth likes to take them out and put them back in), their heads resting against my shoulders, and my arms around them, made me deliciously content and sleepy.

I delight in my children……all seven of them.

David 15

Posted on September 28, 2017 by Shanda

Son, you outgrew my lap, but never my heart. ~Author Unknown

DAVID

turned 15 yesterday.

The night before, I read him all the blog posts I have done in honor of his birthday. The first one was….. when he was FOUR. FOUR!!!! I cannot believe I have been blogging for 11 years. It’s so nice for the children to look back on the different days they remember and see photos. It’s nice for me, too, but I get sad. As I was reading to Dave, he was on the couch about 2 feet away but leaned over so he could see the photos and I felt all sentimental as I read the words I have typed over and over, “I love you” “I’m so proud of you” “my dear son” “you’re so special”. . . . .

Rich has been traveling a lot lately and the thing that I’ve loved is that at the end of the day, David is the last child awake with me and we visit. We talk or read our books. He likes to sit in the rocking chair and he says things to me during these quiet times. He’s interesting without being overwhelming. I’ve lately started to ask him for his opinion on things and he replies with wisdom. Like today, I asked him what he would do if someone he cared about told him that he hated himself. He said that if the situation had been going on for a while then he would try to comfort, but if it was the first time he was confided in, then he would analyze the situation and then proceed. I also asked him what he did when he was so tired at school that he desperately wanted to put his head down and nap. He said that he would do something to hype himself up….like talk with one of his friends or something.

I didn’t blog yesterday on his actual birthday because guess what?

He got his braces off TODAY.

He was very hesitant and embarrassed to smile for the camera, it was almost like he didn’t know how…..he’s been smiling with his lips together for years.

We went to Target right after his appointment, and then to Panera, where he ate cheddar broccoli soup in a bread bowl for the first time in a very long time without braces. I had a cup of autumn squash soup with a chunk of bread. The soup came with a sprinkle of pumpkin seeds on top.

I took more photos of dear Dave outside the mall.

Davehood

CSC_0977

David loves his friends and cares about them. For this reason, he likes school.
David loves his family but is easily annoyed by his younger siblings especially if they 1) enter his room, or 2) eat the last of something he wanted.
David plays soccer, baseball, and does wrestling.
David is a freshman in high school.
He has no phone.
He is currently reading Percy Jackson books, but his current favorite books are the Rot and Ruin series.
He can do back flips and does them during gym class sometimes when the teacher isn’t looking.
He absolutely loves music.
He plays the piano quite well–by learning songs through youtube.
He sings but only in the bathroom and sometimes when we’re in the car if the volume is turned up high enough on the radio.
He is funny in a dry, conversational sort of way.
He is quick and bright.
Through the years he has done origami, made homemade candy and slime, drawn comics, and made homemade walking sticks also useful for doing battles against trees or an armed sibling, and his latest thing is sharpening knives and sharpening the two collectible swords Ethan owns from the antique store.
He loves attention but gets all awkward when he gets it. Like, he tries to avoid my hugs but once he gets one (because I don’t give up easily) he walks away with a smile on his face.
He is a night owl, if I forget to send him to bed he’ll be up half the night.
He likes watching the Flash, Arrow, and Glee on TV.
He likes nature and wild life, and has been my #1 butterfly helper when we were raising and releasing monarchs. He brings me things to look at like toads, cool caterpillars, and rodents. He helped get a chipmunk out of the house this weekend.