Toasted Marshmallows and Unopened First Aid Kits

It's Monday once again, my friends. And as always that means it's time to reflect on the things that made us happy over the past week. And of course now is also the perfect time to set the tone for a great week to come! 

If you missed my take on LML, you can find it here. If you missed the explanation of LML Monday, you can catch up here.


Like I mentioned on Friday, my family and I headed out into the woods over the weekend for our first camping trip with the Cub Scouts. Not only did we survive, but we managed to have a fantastic time along the way. I have many wonderful pictures and stories to share, in what is looking now like a six-part "Camping Adventure" series to come. So I hope you'll stay tuned! :)

But for the sake of today's post, I'll just start with a couple of the highlights.

Toasted Marshmallows (and S'Mores, or course!)
One of the best parts of camping (for me, anyway) is the campfire. I love the smell of the burning wood, and the warmth that it offers on a cold night, and how relaxing it is to just sit and watch the dancing flames while enjoying a peaceful night out in nature.

Of course for the kids, the campfire is important for another reason. Yep, all day Saturday my daughter kept asking "Is it time for s'mores yet?" and "Can we toast the marshmallows now?" Fortunately the waiting didn't kill her like she seemed to think it would, and that night we finally got to toast the marshmallows and make some ooey-gooey s'mores.

The kids were adorable, holding the forks oh-so-carefully over the flames. (They're like me, and don't like to catch the marshmallows on fire. Just a slow, gentle toasting is good for us.) And their delighted faces once they bit into the s'mores were priceless. Definitely one of our favorite moments of the whole trip.


Unopened First Aid Kits
My daughter has a tendency to fall down and get hurt. A lot. (The poor thing inherited some of her mom's balance and grace, I'm afraid.) So one of my main concerns about our camping adventure weekend was having a well-stocked first aid kit. And I admit, I was a little nervous as I tried to anticipate how she might hurt herself, and whether I would be prepared for it.

But I'm thrilled to say that my fully stocked kit went completely untouched this weekend. We didn't need any bandages, or disinfectant, or any of the myriad of supplies that I had packed. We were able to explore, and discover, and have an adventure without a serious medical incident. And that made me very happy.

Ok. I shared mine - now it's your turn! Please feel free to leave me a comment and share some of your recent LML moments. Focus on the happy thoughts, and let's all have a great week!

And if you're a blogger and would like to get in on the LML fun, feel free to grab the code and join the blog hop! Your post doesn't specifically have to use the "LML" label (although you're welcome to use it if you'd like, and the graphic that goes along with it.) If you have any kind of happy, positive Monday message that you'd like to share you're welcome to join. The more happy vibes, the better the Monday!

No Phones, No Lights, No Motorcars (or something like that)

www.fs.usda.gov

I will be going off the grid, so to speak, for the next couple of days. The family and I are headed out to the woods for our first Cub Scout camp out. (The picture above is a Forrest Service photo of the area close to where we'll be.) Beautiful, yes? With the temperatures here in the valley already reaching the 90s, we're definitely looking forward to escaping the heat for a few days in the high country.

It should be an interesting experience, since our kids have never been camping before. (I know. I'm more than a little ashamed of that. Better late than never, though, right?) They're very excited, and have been doing a countdown for the past week or so. And telling everyone they see that "We're going camping this weekend!!!"

I'm hoping to come back with plenty of great stories to share with all of you. So... wish me luck. I haven't been camping since I was a kid, and neither has my husband. I'm pretty sure I still remember how to do it. And I'm almost certain that the kids are going to love it. Mostly, I just hope I don't look like too much of a newbie in front of all the experienced scouting families. :)

The Silliest Thing About People

My daughter spilled a little bit of milk when she was finishing her cereal this morning. As soon as she was done (and without being asked - I'm so proud!) she got a napkin and cleaned up the spill. As she did it, she explained, "Mommy, since I made a mess, I'm cleaning it up."

I thanked her, and told her I was proud of her for being so responsible. Then she looked at me with a very serious expression and said (in a somewhat baffled tone) "Mommy - did you know that some people make messes and don't even clean them up?!"

"I know!" I said, matching her tone. "Can you believe it?"

"That's ridiculous!" she declared, shaking her head. I agreed. As we walked up the stairs, she shook her head again and said (this time somewhat mournfully) "That's just the silliest thing about people."

So there you have it. More wise words from my five-year-old.

If you make a mess, please clean it up. If you break something, please try to fix it. If you hurt someone, please try to make up for it. Take responsibility for your actions, and do the best you can to set things right if you make a mistake. Otherwise, you're just being silly.

Bittersweet Moments

When you're a parent, you live your life for your kids. You care for them. You teach them. You help them develop into the people that they are going to be. Some of your proudest moments are when you see your kids accomplish something new on their own. 

But those are also some of your saddest moments. It means that your babies aren't babies any more. It means that they're one step closer to independence. It reminds you that they are growing up, and that one day they will fly away.

It happens much too quickly, too. One day they're babies...

You blink once, and see how much they've grown...

And then before you know it, your babies have been replaced by these wonderful little people. You're proud of who they have become, but at the same time you marvel at how quickly it flew by.

My little people have recently entered a new phase of their lives, and I'm handling it about like you'd expect. 

Our "morning routine" changed this week. In the past, they would always wake up before me in the morning and either play or watch cartoons until I told them it was time to get ready for school.

But this past Monday they surprised me. This time when they came into my room a few minutes before my alarm was set to go off, not only were they already completely dressed (shoes and all) but they had already brushed their teeth too. No more help needed with the toothpaste or shoelaces, it would seem. 

They still needed a little bit of help with their hair, and they needed me to get their vitamins (because the lids are child-proof, but also because "we know we're not supposed to touch those on our own.") 

So I still got to feel a little bit useful. But I still recognized the moment, and what it represented. And as proud as I was of their growing independence, my heart still ached just a little bit.

Blissful Ignorance, How I Miss You

Due to some incredibly poor planning on my part, I ran out of Coffee-mate this morning. This basically left me with three options:

1) make a trip to the grocery store
2) don't drink any more coffee today
3) drink it without the Coffee-mate

Grocery shopping is already on my to-do list for tomorrow, and there wasn't really any way to work it in today. With that in mind, and considering my particular disdain for shopping, I just couldn't bring myself to make an extra trip just for one thing (no matter how important it might be.) So that option was out.

As for not drinking any more coffee today... well, that just wan't going to happen. So I reminded myself that there was a time in my life before I discovered Coffee-mate. Plain milk worked just fine in those days, so there was no reason it couldn't work again.

But the thing is, there is a reason that sayings like "you can't go home again" and "you can't un-ring a bell" exist. Once you've moved on with your life, the things you left behind will never be the same, or as good as you remember them. Once you know that something exists, you can't pretend you don't. Because now you know what you're missing.

It's like your life before a DVR, when you didn't think there was anything wrong with how you watched TV. But once you know what it's like having the ability to pause and rewind what you're watching it drives you insane if you suddenly can't do it.

Or life before the satellite radio, when we thought it was silly to pay extra for it when we could already get radio stations for free. But now we know what it's like to have so many specialized stations that cater to our whims and don't play commercials. I don't know about you, but I hardly listen to "regular" radio at all any more.

So yes, I had my coffee. And yes, it was okay with milk. But it did make me a little sad that I couldn't go back to the blissful ignorance of days gone by.

Happy Earth Day

We didn't really do anything special to celebrate this time, but my daughter did color a special picture that she wanted me to share with all of you. 

I asked her what the stuff around the earth was, and she said "hair." (Much in the tone of "Duh!") I asked why she decided to give the earth hair, and she just shrugged and said "To be silly." So there you have it. :)


Want to learn more about Earth Day? You might find these links helpful:

Earth Day Network
The Nature Conservancy
Earth Week 1970
History.com

Look Deeper

It's Monday once again, my friends. And as always that means it's time to reflect on the things that made us happy over the past week. And of course now is also the perfect time to set the tone for a great week to come! 

If you missed my take on LML, you can find it here. If you missed the explanation of LML Monday, you can catch up here.


I have to admit that this past week was kind of rough. I wasn't really feeling well most of the time (having a lot of issues with pain and headaches.) I wasn't able to do a lot of the things that I had wanted to do. My typically awesome kids were having a hard time remembering how well behaved they usually are.

These are the times when it's easy to wallow. When it's easy to say that there's "nothing good" going on right now. And these are the times when I believe that it's most important to look deep inside and find something to be happy about. Something about life to appreciate.

Even when the pain is bad, or the kids are being monsters, or nothing seems to be going right, there are still little moments to cherish. Being able to have a family dinner together. Watching the kids use their amazing imaginations and invent incredibly creative games. Telling knock-knock jokes that don't make any sense, and laughing hysterically about them anyway. Being surrounded by the people you love, and being happy for each day that you get to spend with them.

I suppose that when it comes right down to it, this is what the LML theory is all about.

Ok. I shared mine - now it's your turn! Please feel free to leave me a comment and share some of your recent LML moments. Focus on the happy thoughts, and let's all have a great week!

And if you're a blogger and would like to get in on the LML fun, feel free to grab the code and join the blog hop! Your post doesn't specifically have to use the "LML" label (although you're welcome to use it if you'd like, and the graphic that goes along with it.) If you have any kind of happy, positive Monday message that you'd like to share you're welcome to join. The more happy vibes, the better the Monday!