Well …… the plan this weekend was to:

Go to the school book fair on Friday night with the girls, take time off Saturday from cooking and homework to go pick pumpkins.  On Sunday the plan was to carve said pumpkins upon my return home from work.

However, on Friday my knee started acting up again and it was raining.  This is the third flare up I’ve had since July and at this point we are thinking arthritis since the offending knee makes crunchy sounds during the attack.  While I am grateful that my prescribed anti-inflammatories do seem to help, they also tend to trigger a flare up in my abdominal pain.  This may seen like a poor trade off but my tolerance for the later is much higher as it is something I am more used to.  Anyway, between the rain and the pain I was a bad mommy and skipped the book fair and asked GamerDude to take the girls to buy pumpkins on Sunday while I am at work.  The plan is still to carve them tomorrow evening.

I did manage to spend Saturday cooking and doing homework – specifically working on 2 term papers.  One is a book review on a Slavery text, the other is an in-depth poetry analysis of 3 works by Anne Sexton.  I cannot say that either is coming easily.  Nor can I say that I am enjoying writing either one.  I can only hope that I can make good headway so that I can spend some time focusing on the Spanish class in which I am woefully behind.

The girls are cleaning their hellhole room starting with the closet and drawers and moving toward the center.  They have each been promised payment for this task, but not for keeping it clean once this is done.  Miss Artistic will be getting a new art book – The Monster Book of Manga: Fairies and Magical Creatures.  Princess Nibbles will be being paid in the form of Webkinz charms for her necklace.

Shh don’t tell her she’s getting a WEBKINZ REINDEER for Yule.

I did however get a good bit of cooking done.  I made a batch of chicken and rice (well the chicken in tomato broth portion of said dish) as well as my “famous” Cream of Tomato Soup.  I also defrosted an older batch of beef stroganoff and the 3 dishes should keep us eating happily until next weekend.

That’s about it on this front.  Back to my homework.

Blessings

Mama Kelly

Written by Mama Kelly

Miss Artistic had her first day back to school yesterday.  To those who may have missed earlier posts she and a friend had run away from home on Monday morning last week and were missing for 52 hours before being found, in the woods, by local police who had been searching high and low for them for two days.

I worried myself sick between Sunday night and Monday.  I imagined all kinds of horrible things being said to her.  I pictured whispers behind her back and snickers just out of sight.  I prepared myself (and tried to prepare her as well) for taunts and teasings.

And nothing happened.

Really ….. nothing happened. 

She had a truly good first day back at school.

She was warmly greeted by staff and students alike.  Friends, associates, and even the dreaded “populars” all told her that she was missed or that they had worried about her.  Everyone welcomed her back.

She has a week’s worth of work to make up but the teachers are being patient with her.

We are focusing on quality family time as much as possible.  We are trying to have fun where and when we can.  We talk ALOT more than we ever have …. and that my friends is saying something because we are not a closed mouth kind of family. 

And I am trying my mightiest to not raise my voice at all, for any reason, in anyone’s direction because it acts as a trigger for her anxiety right now.

Insofar as me ….

I am still not sleeping through the night.

I still get frantic without cause with the slightest provocation.

I hate my coworkers.  Or more accurately I hate the ones who decided that a fitting way to spend the time in my absence was to spread the nasty and untrue rumor that my 12-year-old daughter ran away because she was pregnant.

The other coworkers ….. the ones who held my family in their thoughts and hopes and prayers ….. the ones who welcomed ME back warmly, without judgement ….. I will remember fondly unto my dying day.

I am more behind than I could’ve imagined in my classes and can only hope and pray to anyone who will listen that I can somehow get it all done by this time next week.

Thank you again, my blogging family, for YOUR thoughts and prayers.  I truly believe that each of them helped light the way for the police to find my wayward child and bring her back into my arms.

There are no words to express my gratitude.

Love and Blessings to you all

Mama Kelly

Written by Mama Kelly

Here’s a little youtube video dedicated to Mama Kelly and all mom’s out there. Make your life easier and just play this video for your kids in the morning and get all the necessary motherly advice dished out to your kids in under 3 minutes! Enjoy.

Bright blessings, Lady Rose

Written by Lady RoseTags:humor, parenting

I am grateful for my daughter and her friend coming home safe after being missing for 52 hours.

I am grateful for my local police force who pulled no stops in their efforts to bring about that end.

I am grateful for friends and family members who came and helped in the recovery efforts as well as in the efforts to keep me sane.

I am grateful for each and every person who said a prayer to whomever you said it, who lit a candle, or who simply sent white light.

I am grateful that I work in a place where my hours can be as flexible as they need to be over the next weeks and months, even if I am not paid for the hours I do not work.

I am grateful for professors and others who understand that schoolwork is going to have to play second fiddle for the rest of the semester.

I am just grateful to have the chance to hold my daughter.

My family has a lot of healing yet to do.  The road ahead is still a long one.

But we will get there together!!!

My hope and prayer is that EVERY family affected by their child being missing finds them, brings them home, and gets the chance to love them again!!!

Blessings

Mama Kelly

Written by Mama Kelly

Here’s a little tidbit that J.K. Rowling just recently revealed while on a book signing tour here in the U.S. – “Dumbledore is gay.”   Not that there is anything wrong with that, as Jerry Sienfeld would say – just an interesting bit of trivia that all of us Harry Potter fans love to know about.

I loaned out my copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Book 7) to two people so far, and just got it back this weekend – but a friend of my hubby’s wants to borrow it next.  Once she returns it, I am looking forward to giving it a second read myself – this time nice and slow.  

And of course at the top of my Yule gift list is to get the Harry Potter Boxset Books 1-7 - I’ve been very good this year, so maybe Santa will tuck it under my tree.  

Bright Blessings, Lady Rose

Of Interest: be sure to check out our Best Ever Harry Potter Birthday Party -  Everything you need to have your very own incredible Harry Potter theme celebrations, includes recipes, party planning, activites and games, etc.

Written by Lady RoseTags:harry potter

Just a quick update (now that the family emergency is over)  to let everyone know that Mama Kelly and her family are doing well.   I went for a brief visit last night to bring over some cold cuts, salads and rolls and to give Miss Artistic another BIG hug.      I can’t begin to express the relief and joy we all feel having her back home and safe.

Every one has gotten some rest though it will be awhile before everyone recovers and life can return to usual day to day.   Mama Kelly did go see the doctor and got perscriptions to help deal with her bronchitis which was getting worse.   

 Your well wishes and postive energy during this ordeal have been a great comfort and are truly appreciated. 

Wishing every one a safe and joyful weekend and BIG virtual hug to all the children out there. 

Bright blessings,  Lady Rose

Written by Lady RoseTags:family, runaway

UPDATE 10/18/07 – both children are home safe. They were found Wed. afternoon by police, tired, dirty, but unharmed. Thank you every one for your thoughts and prayers.

Mama Kelly is exhausted, and needs some time to rest. Once life calms down we will be back to blogging.

Blessings, Lady Rose

*************************

Emergency – Missing Child – Monmouth County NJ

BREAKING NEWS: Police are searching for a missing 15 and 12-year olds

Special MYSPACE page

This is my very own Miss Artistic who has run away and is still missing. She has not been home since 7:45 AM Monday morning (Oct. 16, 2006).

Please post this on your blogs.  Please send to us your wishes hopes prayers white light and anything else you can manage.

Thank you, Mama Kelly

Written by Lady RoseTags:runaway

Last night Princess Nibbles and I went to a “game night” at her school.  She had a great time and, in all honesty, I wasn’t even bored because she is a pleasure to hang out with.  She won all kinds of little prizes and came home happy as a lark.  One of her prizes was a teensy little bag holding 3, even tinier, screwdrivers.  They are real tools but I can’t for the life of me imagine when she would ever have cause to use them.  They were, however, one of her favorite prizes of the night.

Mr. Grumpy is out much of today and tomorrow which makes life at home more pleasant than usual, especially as I can take the night off from cooking, order pizza, and have more time to relax when I am not doing homework.  Though tomorrow the plan is to prep dinner before I head out to work so we have a family dinner when I get home.  Of course that will mean calling the family at 4:00 and reminding them to put it in the oven. LOL

In other news, GamerDude is having a pain spike related to the change of weather and recent rain.  Miss Artistic is doing alright inspite of a brief blow-up when being lectured about a notice form school which detailed several pieces of missed homework in her Spanish course.

As for me?  Well, since I am still coughing up small furry animals  (I really really hate bronchitis) and stuck with much homework I have once again postponed bulb planting.  I am hoping that we can get to it soon as I would hate to have it be another year where I put it off so long that I wind up throwing out the bulbs (due to dry rot) because I never get around to it.

I have made rather good progress so far in that I have done all of my American Lit work.  I received a grade of 100 on my latest quiz and am confident of full marks for my forum posts on our required reading.  I am not worried about the tests in this class as, so far, they have been easy (so long as you paid attention to the reading) but I do have a term paper coming up that will be a bit challenging in that it is a detailed poetry analysis.

I have managed to write 1 of the 4 short papers (300 words or more each) that I need to have done by Wednesday, but have not yet begun studying for my mid-term.  The papers are relatively easy, and so far she grades me rather high, but are time consuming.  However, they are only a small (tiny) portion of my grade and I am concerned about the mid-term more than anything else.

I hope to get all of my required writing in History done today and spend tomorrow and Monday catching up on Spanish.  Tuesday and Wednesday will be devoted to mid-term studying and then the cycle starts all over again.

Gamer Dude is encouraging me to only take 2 classes in the Spring semester and while I hate to do it, as it only serves to slow down my progress toward my degree, he may have a point.  I am trying to do too much, and it comes at the sacrafice of time with him, time with the kids, and time to myself.

Blessings

Mama Kelly

Written by Mama Kelly

I have a few minutes before I put my nose to the schoolwork grindstone so I thought I’d toss up a quick update type of post.

I am feeling slightly better than I was over the weekend.  I wound up having to stay home from work on Monday as I was feverish and hacking up kittens.  The worst part of which is that, including the 2 days I lost last week for my uncle’s wake and funeral, the combination of unpaid time off, flowers and medication puts me many many dollars short in my piggy bank.  As I have mentioned before, my company does not provide any paid time off ….. none …. nil ….. nada …… you get the general idea. 

I was able to work the past 2 days, but since my job is telemarketing I am left with a raw throat and achey chest at the days end.  Yesterday I was at least able to come home and rest … well sit on the couch with homework ….. but tonight I have class until 10pm.  Can you say URG?!  I thought you could.

In happier news Princess Nibbles had a lovely birthday even if I had to avoid most contact and hide on the couch most of the day.  She was the happy recipient of 3 Webkinz – her first ones and they have all been formally adopted, housed amd clothed since.

Miss Artistic is well her angsty self.  She is a typical teenager in that she vascilates between being happily helpful to ….. frankly …… irrationally irate.   Mid-quarter notices should be received by Mama Kelly’s household by this time next week and based on previous years I expect bad news.  She swears, insists, that this year is different …. and I’d like to believe her.  But, we have heard this song and dance before.

Not mush else is new.  I am hoping to crack down starting tomorrow and catch up on my ignored Spanish course (damn my overbearing taskmistress of a History professor) and get through a quiz in my American Lit class as well (less of a worry as I have a solid A thus far).

Over the weekend I hope to make a dent in my plans for planting bulbs with the girls.  But it depends, alas not only on the weather and my bronchitis fleeing the scene, but on how much homework I can accomplish between now and then.

I hope to post more soon and hope this finds each of you happy and healthy.

Blessings

Mama Kelly

Written by Mama Kelly

Wander the Web Wednesday – Pagan Parenting Pages

The idea is to highlight 3 to 5 links that you feel would be new to other readers. They can be daily reads, or personal favorites. They may even just be something fun or freaky or just plain fascinating that you wandered into recently. They can all be about one theme or all different.

If you want to “play along” make a list on your site and link to it in the comments. Of course I’d appreciate a link back. You may use the graphic above, (do not hotlink), simply save it to your own computer.

1. Pagan Parenting – dedicated to providing Pagan parents with educational, community-building, family-oriented, spiritual-related articles, activities and other parenting resources for modern Pagan families.
2. MamaWitch’s Pagan Parenting Pages – 10 years on the web
3. Crystal Forest Pagan Parenting – simple spells and rites tailored for children’s needs
4. Glass Temple Pagan Parenting – written by DragonFire and features some thoughts and ideas about raising Pagan children.
5. The Meagan Stories – one story for each of the major holidays as well as stories about other issues important to children

If you enjoyed this post, be sure to check out our For Kids page where we have a large selection of resources for pagan families, including a variety of pagan friendly coloring pages.

Written by Mama KellyTags:meme, pagan parenting