Easter Weekend Festivities

© Heather Hoskinson

We started our Easter festivities on Good Friday. Last year little Griff was only six weeks old at Easter, so naturally I was ready to get him in on the Easter egg hunt action this year. Half Price Books had a scavenger Easter egg hunt, so Grandma and I hopped in the wagon and headed over to check it out. It started at 1:00 and I believe we arrived about then minutes after. Doh! They were already out of eggs. I guess the Easter bunny was not prepared to hand out eggs to half the little tykes in Dallas. Not to worry, they replenished their supply pretty quickly and while doing so, Moms and I took a break to grab some grub and browse the shelves. As is evident in the photo, Griffin was flirting shamelessly with this Easter bunny. Am I passing along my preferences for redheads or what? Or is it that he already knows you get more flies with honey?

© Heather Hoskinson

Then on Saturday we were off to the arboretum for Dallas Blooms. Yeah, us and about a million other people. But whatever. So worth it! My bestie and her son were in town and HAD to get the boys together for an Easter photo...involving pretty flowers and well, goats of course!

The weather was UH-mazing, between 70 and 75 degrees. You know how those Texas springs are, as short as an Alaskan fall me thinks. We ran into the Easter bunny as soon as we got there and were the last people to get a photo with him before he went on break. Many photo commenters seem to think he looks creepy, but I'd say this one looks pretty darn friendly compared to some I've seen. Tomato. Tom-otto.

The arboretum is such a great place to take the little ones because there is so much space to roam free. Even when it is ridiculously crowded, you will have no trouble finding ample lawn space to park your brood and just hang out. The family pass is the way to go if you go more than once or twice a year. It is only $119 and gets in SIX people. At $15 for adult admission, you can't beat that with a stick! Or even a chunky, drool-covered baby arm.

© Heather Hoskinson

On Sunday we allllmost made it to church on time. My Hubs was all, "What is it with church and being late? Why is it so impossible to make it to church on time?" Can't say I quite know, really, but I'm guessing it might have something to do with the fact that it's not a mandatory activity, and it's a weekend. Whatevs. We made it before the sermon started. Yay! And our pager didn't go off to signal a hysterical baby Griff in the nursery. Double yay!

I thought the message was fantastic. The minister talked about Unitarians are a really "seeing is believing" people, typically speaking. So Easter can be a tricky holiday to really buy into, resurrection being out of the realm of science and all. But the teachings of Christ and His word are unique to each of us and we derive our own meanings. He expanded on the different ways we can interpret the idea of resurrection and the idea that resurrection is redemption following death of innocence, death of ego, death of despair. "Resurrection for many of us is learning to trust the deeper places of your heart." 

© Heather Hoskinson

I spent the rest of the afternoon with my beautiful family. I am a lucky woman, even if I don't always act like it. Yes, life can be a struggle and some days are grim. I battle the blues more than I care to admit. But it is my hope that over time I can re-train my brain and focus on those enduring moments of hope, sunshine, laughter, unity, and connection and push away fear and doubt. That will be my resurrection. 

© Heather Hoskinson

"I should..."

I suppose my blog is just like my life - all over the place. I'm coming to peace with that - being all over the place. I figure as long as I'm moving forward, I'm good. But there are some days where you feel like you are running in place. I'm willing to bet a lot of women experience that, especially moms! We are so hard on ourselves, living in a world of "I should...". Do you know what I mean? It's like, "I'd like to order the guilt entree, please. With the fries? No thanks, I'll take a side of guilt. And can you supersize that?" I mean, here I am...FINALLY sitting down to blog, to my beloved blog I used to love so much and then threw out into the cold, totally gone and forgotten. And yet the other half of my brain is thinking, wow, is this really the best use of your son's naptime?? I should be...doing laundry, making a healthy lunch instead of waiting until I'm STARVING and then just eat a bunch of Girl Scout cookies, returning call to so-and-so, applying for that job, et cetera. That running to-do list, omnipresent in the background of your mind, urging you to be productive at all times. I think this is why we are so stressed out these days, good ol' modern times. This is how we live. A million things to do. Always tethered to technology and communication. Surrounded by an onslaught of information. This clip does a GREAT job of explaining the technology side of what I mean, from Portlandia. Such a great show!

I can so identify with this little tidbit of insanity. There are so many wonderful benefits of technology, but I do believe I suffer from some of its negative effects. Lately I have really noticed that I have a hard time focusing, my thoughts and actions. I have become less interested in books and always seem to choose reading online versus a long book. And I am bombarded by so many options and so many ideas that I get overwhelmed and lack direction. I feel like I'm having a lot of "Serenity Now!" moments.

Well this just sort of turned into a Negative Nancy bitch fest didn't it? Oops. I have to check myself. When I start getting all angsty like this I have to mentally re-group and focus on the things I do, not all the shit I don't do, or could do better. You have to CHOOSE gratitude. It doesn't choose you. We live in a complex world and when I choose gratitude, things become much simpler. It allows me to zero in on what's important and mutes the white noise created by an access to too much information. 

This little man is my best accomplishment to date and I figure as long as he feels loved and secure, nothing else really matters all that much. 

Yeah, I should get around to that Paleo diet. I should finish that scrapbook. I should make that call to an old friend. I should try more new recipes. I should finish unpacking my house and get more organized. I should do one of those projects I saved on Pinterest. But guess what? I'm going to go get my son out of his crib now that I hear him up talking to himself, and go play with him on the floor, and choose to live in a world of 'I do'. Not 'I should.' Eff that.

“Acknowledging the good that you already have in your life is the foundation for all abundance.” 
― Eckhart Tolle, A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose

Snow Day

 Apparently, I'm not that MARRIED TO THE BLOG after all, eh?  Yeesh.  It's been weeks since I last blogged.  Yeah, sure.  I could talk about how busy I've been.  But really, I was a total lazy bum there for quiiiite a few days.  Turns out it's pretty exhausting to go on vacation for over two weeks!  Whew.  The day we drove back I left Austin around 9:30 a.m.  Picked Mr. Siss up from DFW around 1.  And we got back to the Lil' Apple at 10:30.  It was a long day, and snowing in Dallas no less!  We just beat the nasty weather here in Kansas.  We passed a couple of overturned cars outside of Wichita.  That black ice will get ya!  Once the conditions got a little slick, I gladly passed over driving duties to Mr. Alaska, thank-you-very-much.  I wasn't going to take any sub jobs for Monday because I figured I would need a day to recover.  But guess what?!  It was a snow day anyway!  Score!!  So I got to spend the day guilt-free.  It was lovely.  I love the snow.  The picture you see here was taken TODAY, not the snow day from a week and a half ago about which I speak.

 Isn't it beautiful?  When we move back to Texas, I can't say I will miss the bitter cold and the gray, wintry days all that much.  But I WILL miss the snow.  And distinct seasons.  That's okay.  You can't have it all.  Wait, can you?!

Our neighborhood has been taken over by flocks (I almost said 'swarms'....hahahahaa) of CROWS.  This is what you see my little Lola girl staring at with intense concentration here.  She was frozen in this pose for quite some time.  She prefers squirrels ("Squirrel?!"), but in their absence, crows will do.  Crows really like to go through your trash.  We don't need a picture of that though do we?

 I knew, just KNEW, I was going to regret not putting on a wee bit of lipstick for this photo.  My lips are almost the EXACT same color as my face.  Oh well.  Then it would've seemed too formal and contrite, and Mr. Siss would've been on to me.  Cute pic though, no?  My friend has this link party on her blog called "Embrace the Camera Thursdays."  I would link it, but I couldn't find it.  Maybe later.  Anyway, that was the spirit of taking this photo.  Just a commemoration of a day in the life.  It's so easy to just get swept up and carried away with it, isn't it?  One of the big blessings in my life right now is TIME.  I am not working a stressful job, and usually not even forty hours a week either.  Neither is Mr. Siss.  And we don't have children.  And we hardly know anyone around here.  So we have...TIME.  Yeah, sometimes I can get a bit restless.  But most of the time I'm just glad to have it.  When you are busy and running around a hundred miles an hour, it's hard to stop and take photos like this and just be GLAD.  GLAD that you are healthy.  GLAD that you are safe.  GLAD that you are loved.  And so many others.  Do not mistake me.  There are days when I'm not always glad.  Gratitude is something I am working on.  I think my default mentality is sometimes to look at people that have what I want, and feel envy, wanderlust.  This leads to negative feelings.  Or pointless feelings anyway.  Then I thought, well, look at all I have that others do not.  Why are you not looking at it that way?  That paints an entirely different picture!  I know.  I know.  This is SO basic.  But just because it is a fundamental truth does not mean it is an easy one.  There is a difference between knowing something to be true extrinsically versus intrinsically.  I'm working on it.  A wise man once said, "You can't think your way into right acting.  You've got to act yourself into right thinking."  That applies to so many things.  Exercising gratitude (although it's somewhat more abstract and therefore the actions can be harder to pin), and getting fit.  How many times have you made a plan of action about fitness, from your couch?  I know I have!  Talked about it.  Thought about it.  But then when it came to actually doing it, I fell short.  I'm back at trying again.  This time trying to put my thoughts away when they are telling me I don't want to work out.  Just do it.  Don't think about it.  Just do it.  And then hopefully, after a few weeks/months of the same pattern, the thought patterns will have changed also.  That's the plan anyway.  I'll keep you posted.  It's only week one.  Dang.  Calm down.

I like our cute little plants in the kitchen window.  Why is it that doing dishes in front of a window is SO MUCH more tolerable than a wall?  I don't know.  But it IS. 

It's ten p.m. and this girl needs to study and get to bed!  What are you grateful for today?