Help! I'm Learning a New Language and My Brain is About to Explode!

Recently, the monkeys and I have been learning Japanese.  We have a wonderful tutor who captivates us with her creative teaching style.  There is only one problem- -my brain!

Seriously!  My kids are like little sponges just soaking up all the hiragana and katakana, and I am just a goner.  My brain is a fossilized sponge, devoid of any language learning capability.  Am I just getting old, or did I kill one too many brain cells back in college?

I will survive though, and maybe, just maybe, I will be able to learn and retain a phrase or two in Japanese for more than five minutes.  

I have always been fascinated (and maybe even a little jealous) by people who can fluently speak two or more languages.

I think that it would be fun to be a translator. I have a friend who works part time as a translator and loves it!

Have you ever seen this video?  Hilarious!

Mata Ne,

Melissa

The Little Monkey

There once was a little monkey who loved to sing....

And daydream about trains, trucks, and other things...

 But his favorite thing of all to do, was to make "stinker faces" the whole day through.

The End.

Sisters

I love my sisters.  As the oldest of the girls, I had the privilege of watching them both grow into beautiful women.

As a mom of three girls, it brings me great joy to see the close relationship that our girls have with each other.  

They love each other so much.  

Sure, they have their "moments" just like any other sisters, but for the most part this is what we see each day

And I hope and pray that it always stays this way. 

Hugs, 

Melissa

Hip, Hip, Hooray It's My Bloggy Birthday!

One year ago today this blog was born.  All that I can say is:

Yippee!
Woo Hoo!
Yeah Baby!
Aww Yeah!
Rock On!
Awesome!
Oh Wow!
Fabulous darling!

But mostly, I just want to say THANK YOU!!! to all of you who faithfully read this here little blog.

I really enjoy this creative outlet, and my hope is that you have somehow been encouraged, challenged, or even mildly entertained by reading "This and That" over this past year.

Here's to another year...

Hugs,

Melissa

Knee Baby

Being from the south, my father's side of the family has a tendency to utilize words and phrases that often seem, ahem...strange.  Phrases like, "over yonder", "sit a spell", "shin dig", and "ya'll" flow freely from their lips.  If we are together for awhile, I find myself speaking the country vernacular as well.  And truth be known, I love it!

On a recent visit to my aunt's house, she introduced our youngest monkey girl as the "knee baby".  Now that is one phrase that I have not heard, so I had to ask for a translation.

According to southern tradition, the knee baby is the baby that was the baby before the baby came along.  Confused yet?  So was I, until I had another glass of sweet tea and some chew bread, then I went out on the porch and set for a spell.

Here is my "knee baby" with my "baby baby":

Ya'll come back now, ya hear,

Melissa

Family Pictures are Fun, Fun, Fun!

My sweet and ultra-talented niece Heather of Lisbeth Photography is taking our family pictures today.  I have been brainstorming and looking at ideas online to see how creative we can get with this photo shoot.

You see, we are having the pictures taken in a lovely park where Music Man and I had our wedding reception. There are large oak trees, a beautiful lake and an amazing estate house.

I love this idea:

photo via

What do you think?

Hugs and Smiles,

Melissa

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes...

Life is so full of changes and transitions.  Some seasons are more full of change than others.

In this season of our life now, change is abundant.  Job changes, body changes, attitude changes, dietary changes, kids growing, college, high school, potty training, driving lessons, and so on...

This past year there has been loss and gain.  Joy and pain.  We have laughed much, stressed much, loved large, and pondered profoundly.  Many milestones have been achieved.  We have taken two steps forward, and twenty backward, and twenty-one forward again.  We have succeeded in some areas and successfully failed in others.

I have always loathed change.  Lately, I just want to stop time.  I want to freeze-frame that toothless grin our girl has.  I do not want to make the crib into a toddler bed.  I choke up thinking about that upcoming college orientation. I still have that last maternity shirt hanging in the closet, because, well, just because I can not seem to take it down.

But, this season of life is teaching me that change is important.  Life ebbs and flows and each moment leads to the next, to the next, to the next.  I can go hide my eyes and plug my ears and choose not to move forward, or I can embrace it all.  All the change.  It's changing me...

Hugs,

Melissa