By second grade, I was a big sister to Nicholas Wayne. He would have been five or so, by that time. He was also born in my parent's heart, and a gift from another mother. He was my best friend growing up, even though you wouldn't have known it to hear us bickering.
When I was six, everything we did was outdoors. Bicycle riding. Hiking down by the creek. Picnics in the woods. Walking on the trails my dad had meandering throughout our property. We grew up in a little house in the woods in a world where mosquitoes and deer ticks were the only predators my parents had to worry about. We had picnics by the creek where it seemed as if time stood still, and the world was ours for the taking. That small woods allowed our imaginations to soar. I used to always think to myself, "Picnic. Pick Nick. My parents PICKED NICK." It was one of my favorite words for just that reason.
I remember my little brother telling me one day when I was in a particularly bad mood, "Sissy, don't be such a Johnny Appleseed." What he meant by that was don't be a crabby appleton, but through and through, that was Nick. Always happy. Always wanting others to be happy. To this day, he only wants to please others. I remember whenever I got spanked (with that dreaded flyswatter), my little brother would cry louder than I myself would. He has always had a heart of gold.
As I spoke of earlier, bike rides were a part of our every day routine, it seemed. Our route on our bicycles was a jaunt around the block. A four mile country block, mind you. Those bike rides will always be forever ingrained in my mind because it is the first conscious memory that I have in which I was told about my being adopted. So as you see, I have always known the truth, which is something for which I am so grateful to my parents.
Needless to say, by second grade, everyone knew that I was adopted. It was no secret, but kids had a lot of questions. Of course, I obliged them and explained that I was not "born under my mother's heart, but in it." And I was fortunate that none of my classmates ridiculed the fact that I was adopted. I think they thought that since I acted as though it were special, it made THEM realize that too. And I have those "pick nicks" by the creek and the long, lazy bicycle rides to thank for knowing that fact. The fact that my brother and I were picked. We were chosen.
I know, I know! I'm late! And I apologize, but I took the girls swimming yesterday (I'm going to use this post for double duty so I will put them... here. and the day just got away from me! Regardless, here I am for Piggy Tales Thursday...1st grade edition.
First grade came and I was all set for my first day of school. Bag: check. Lunch: Check. Mom...no check??? I had gone to kindergarten, but this??? This was a whole 'nother dinosaur!! But Mrs. Bixler made it okay. She ushered me in and nurtured my love of reading. She was, and still remains, one of my favorite teachers! I remember my mom used to come in and help some days, and those were always my favorite days!
I remember my first sleepover party was for my 6th birthday. My best friends, Allison, Ashley, and Sara were invited. My mom and dad thought that homemade pizza would be a great treat. I remember making it ourselves. Then...for dessert...ICE CREAM! We were allowed to fix it up any way we wanted.
I also remember the time that my mom dressed up like an elf for my class. I don't remember much of this, just the green elf shoes with bells at the tip of her curled toes! Christmas time was always fun. I recall a Christmas bazaar with all kinds of crafts and good food. Even then, I was into crafty things!
Speaking of crafty things, I used to spend a good bit of my childhood coloring. I was always sort of a loner (until probably...middle school???), and coloring was one of my favorite hobbies. I also loved to read. Dr. Suess was, of course, loved by the entire household. My favorite books of his were In A People House and Put Me in the Zoo. My mom says that, to this day, she still remembers the antics of Hooper Humperdink, Marvin K. Mooney, and Young Yolanda Yorgensen. These days, I have nearly every one of Dr. Suess' books, and my girls love them just as much as I do. I mean, did. ;o) Well, I suppose that is all that I can recall specifically about first grade.
Tune in next Thursday for 2nd grade. Hopefully, I can make it on time then! I also hope to add some pictures to these posts, so you may want to stop back to check and see them.
Who remembers this amazing, fun, moving movie? I was inspired by Melissa's post at A Family in Love to make a Summer Bucket List of my own since the summer usually slips through my fingers like sand from a pail.
Make an address planter (like this one at Cap Creations) Make my own salsa Learn the art of canning Organize the pantry (again...and again...and again) Take the fam to the drive in See Eclipse with the girls (Yes, I'm a Twi-nerd) Learn how to use the Singer (Anyone offering lessons???) Take the girls for a hike at Ouabache (the local state park) Take Emma Claire canoeing Make these cute little ladies for the garden Take the girls to the Children's Museum in Indy Make the garage a usable space Done! Well, it's clean anyway!! Start a little Christmas shopping (Be quiet. I'll be the one laughing at Christmas.) Build a playhouse for the girls Paint the house (I'm shootin' high on that one.) Build a kitchen (for said playhouse) like Kristen's that was featured here at Knock Off Wood Hang clothes on the line (The line that doesn't exist yet...) Make this chore system for Emma (from Making the World Cuter) Visit the in-laws in Tennessee Take Emma Claire to Pine Lake We had a blast!!! Hubs even took a day off (this hardly EVER happens) and even HE had fun!! Take Emma Claire to see Junie B. Jones (this isn't until November, but I thought that I would include it anyway) at Amish Acres Go to the flea market at Shipshewana (If you are ever in northern Indiana, go there! It's WONDERFUL!!!) Have Aunt Delaney come for a visit. Camp out. Even if it's in the backyard. Stick to Weight Watchers. Run a 5K. Starting small. Join a Zumba class. See what the hype is all about. Make a new friend. Find a batting cage. Shooting range. (Yes, I am a self-proclaimed hillbilly. I shoot.) Convince the hubby to get a dog (This may take more than just the summer). (Yes, this was the first one accomplished of the summer!!! I have no clue what got into him!!! Sign Emma Claire up for a dance class. Finish the Summer Reading Program that we never do. We always read, we just lose track). Go on a mini-vacation to the Sandusky area. Cut down on soda to one a week. Take the husband to the Cord-Deusenburg museum in Auburn Convince the husband to take me to see Steel Magnolia at Three Rivers Festival. Take Em to Johnny Appleseed Festival Convince Mom to go to the Country Living Fair in Columbus Go to the zoo. Go to the zoo. Go to the zoo. Go to the zoo. Go to the zoo. (Yes, it's on there multiple times so that I can check it off MULTIPLE TIMES. We love the zoo.) Take the girls to Science Central. Convince Emma that there are not any robbers in her room and that she can sleep the whole night long in her OWN bed. Complete MY summer reading program. (8 books in two months. REALLY?!?!? Come on. So far, I am three and a half in. One month remaining. Odds are not looking good to me.) Take some photos of Magic Valley. (Stay tuned to find out what this is.) Fine tune my photo skills.
I have few and far memories from my preschool years, but I do have recollections of pudding painting, naptime, and show and tell. My preschool teacher's name was Mrs. August, who's daughter I remain friends with still today. She was a sweetheart, and I DO remember loving morning preschool at St. Mark's preschool.
Fast forward two years to kindergarten. One of my fondest memories of kindergarten occurred one day when we were late for school. I don't remember it happening OFTEN, but as a mother myself, I understand how we may have been running a bit tardy here and there. Well, on this particular morning my kindergarten teacher Sister Rose apparently decided that I had been late a couple of times too many because she REALLY laid into me. I remember crying. Little did this nun know, but my mom was right behind me. And you all know Mama Bears when their cubs are wrongfully being attacked, right? Mama Bear was NOT having it. My mom let that silly old nun in a habit know that the blame was to be placed not on me, but her.
Now, Sister Rose has passed on, but I can still feel the protectiveness that I felt that day. So while that memory is not a happy one, the memory still holds a special place in my heart.
Yet another memory comes to mind of kindergarten. This one, from the Christmas pageant, in which the kindergartners played the angels in the nativity. I remember getting all dressed up in white, and then Mom adding that silver, glittering, ironic halo. Just another mere glimpse of times long ago.
The things that come to me from my past just come in glimpses. But it is funny to think back on them, because they seem to be from a completely different lifetime. I feel as though reincarnated (if I believed in that sort of thing). My first life: my preschool years consist of memories of my grandmother rocking me in the wooden rocker that PROBABLY still sits in the same spot in her bedroom. Glimpse...Plucking locust shells from the tree in my grandmother's yard. Flash...the sounds of the bug zapper that seemed to hang in the thick Indiana humidity...flash to picnics at the creek with Mom and little brother...flash...looking at Grandma's collection of wheat pennies...Marshmallow circus peanuts from Aunt Ev (my Evelyn's namesake) ...Glimpse...Peanut butter toast with Grandpa with me in one of his old, white V-neck tees. Flash...Grandma and I watching Plinko on The Price is Right.
It's like listening to a radio station that is coming in and out of range.....CSSHHHH...memory....CSHHHH...another random piece of long ago remembered. Then, my second life occurred in middle school. Memories of my first "monthly visit" (came at my end of the softball season SWIM PARTY. I was dramatic and told my mother, "I WISH I WERE A BOY!"), first kiss (chaste and a little slobbery), and the death of my grandpa (I hit a home run for him while hospice prepared him for his death. He loved coming to my games.) Third life: high school. Ugh. More on THAT later. College was my fourth life. That was a reckless, carefree (or careLESS, rather) life. Fifth life was when we were just a family of three. That life ended one year ago when I entered into this life I am in now. Sixth life, blissfully married wife of five years, mother of two astoundingly amazing girls.
My mother readied me for this life (and all the others too) in that dark kindergarten hall some twenty years prior to when I would have to put those skills to use.
The one thing that I recall and that ISN'T just a mere glimpse is this: No one messes with Mama.
Well, things have been a bit chaotic around here, so I am gonna really quickly summarize what we have been up to in a few quick photoblogs, just to catch up!
Well, to backtrack a week and two days ago, Evelyn celebrated her first year with us with a HUGE bash. Well, okay, so maybe not huge, but a decent amount of people considering it was right in the middle of graduation season! We are so appreciative to all our friends and family who came to celebrate Ev's first birthday with us.
Here are a few pictures I took to commemorate the occasion. However, since I was pretty much in charge of Ev as well, the pictures are few and far between, and basically, pretty random. :o) Oh well, that's us anyway. Random. Emma and my little cousin, Izzy waiting for more guests to come Izzy The REAL Izzy Evelyn and her Great Uncle Alan taking a stroll Proud big sissy, and Aunt Amy Little cousin, Maggie, and her pinwheel Best friend and HER pinwheel :o) Evelyn and her second cousin, Emily
Cake Time! FINALLY! YUM! Evelyn Rose LOVED the cake. And dorky me, forgot to take pictures of what it looked like BEFORE she demolished it. Bummer.
Don't forget the next two installments in the "backtracking" series! :o)
As promised, I am posting some pictures of my adventures in gardening. Just recently, I decided that I was going to be the wife of my husband's dreams. This includes being Suzy Homemaker. ERGO, I am becoming a gardening, baking, cooking, and canning guru. It's a slow process, but I'm giving it my best shot. SO...I am not quite to the point of having a green thumb, but I suppose the chlorophyll may be seeping into my blood slowly, thus turning this particular phalanx a somewhat murky olive color. Don't ask me how I remember some of my 5th grade science vocabulary and college anatomy words, but can't keep track of my keys. Especially when I didn't exactly do outstanding in either course. Alas, I won't keep you in suspense any longer.
Here are some shots of my gardening escapades and projects! My hydrangeas. Beautiful. But not my favorite flower. I love poppies. Poppies are my favorite flower. Just a random "about me" fact.
Fresh potted herbs. Cilantro, Italian parsley, and basil.
Shots of my square foot garden. If you are thinking about doing this, DO! I have not had to weed it yet, and it's been about three weeks since we put stuff in the dirt. Or compost, rather. I've got jalapenos, sweet peppers, cooking and canning tomatoes, beefsteak tomatoes, chives, radishes, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, green onions, red onions, and Vidalias. A couple of pumpkin plants and a few watermelon and cantaloupe (the running plants) are all planted up by the house in the flower beds. I like to mix my gardening in with the flowers. The cucumbers are in the flower beds along the other side of the house. The beans and the blackberry bushes are planted along the privacy fence.
These are shots of Emma Claire's planting season. She told me that she wanted to do it by herself, which translates to "go away", only much more polite! So I told her to fill the cups a little with rocks, then pile dirt, poke a finger in the dirt, plant the seed, and water. A lot for a little girl to remember. I just stepped back and watched it all happen. She didn't miss a step. Sure, by a horticulturist's perspective, there may have been too many rocks, the seed been planted too deeply, and then flooded till there should have been doves sent out to look for surviving life, but she did it PERFECTLY in my book. Time to water! Success (in her book. Drowned in mine. Hey, whatevs.)
Our cheering section.
Had to sneak in a shot of what Emma does best. Hopscotch. Yes, I know there is no actual hopscotch. What can I say? She is an excellent pretender! I am sure less than 24 hours prior to that, the chalk version was there in reality.
A is for Ashley. My neighbor. And her husband Mitch. They came over and we chatted on Friday night. I love when we can manage to sneak in an adult conversation! B is for Bing Cherries. Bought some. One apparently escaped and found its way into...You guessed it. Evelyn's mouth. She ate the entire thing. Pit and all. I just found the evidence on her BRAND NEW, tags taken off that day, outfit. Drat. Shout, do your magic! C is for cruise control. Wow, if this were Scategories, I would totally have gotten double points for that one. Sorry. Cruise control. I drove about 3 hours total on Saturday. Backseat driver free. Woohoo! D is for ducks. My little Emma Claire IS A DUCK! She is a swimming fool, and we were in the lake ALL DAY on Saturday. I only got a little burnt.SPF 50 is a pale white girl's bestie! E is for Evelyn Rose. She turned one last week and has started to walk. A little. Not completely yet. Just a quick leap of faith from a table to the waiting arms of Mama. F is for frankfurters. No, I don't really call them that, but whatevs! Bummies Spanish Dogs! YUMMMM Has anyone ever noticed my mention of Bummie's in like, every post??? Well, if you ever get to Bluffton, IN (I don't know why you would though), be sure to stop by Bummie's. Best. Dogs. EVER. G is for garden. My garden is growing! Yay for everything still being semi-alive! Well, for the most part anyway... (Not in my garden. Eh...) H is for house. We have been doing repairs to the house. Next up, repairing the back screen door. For an early Father's Day present, I provided the hubs with the necessary materials. 'Cause I'mma sweetheart like that. ;o) I is for Ice Pops. We are big fans of Ice Pops in the Peterson household. Favorite flavor? Red. No clue what flavor the color red is and it probably has LOTS of Red 40 in it, but dang is it refreshing! J is for Jump! Because that is the ONLY way to get in the frigid water. Just JUMP! K is for kindred spirits. Emma has a summertime friend up at the lakes and they are very different looks wise, but kindred spirits on the inside. L is for LAKE. Because the lake is where we can be found every weekend. All summer long. M is for Mama. Evelyn still hasn't said it yet. But I'm her favorite person!!!!! Why the heck is it all about the DaDa???!!! N is for no strike outs. That is my goal for my softball game tonight. I know, I am extending my alphaweekend a bit. But it's my blog. So I can do things like that. O is for Obama. Cause that is all that comes to mind right now. But shame on you, Mr. President for taking yet another vacation when you should have been honoring the fallen heroes of our country. Oh, and the fact that you haven't mentioned Tennessee's flood situation is ridiculous. Okay. I am going to stop right now. No more politics. I promise. P is for potatoes. Grilled potato packets on the grill sound good for summer. Q is for quiet. Emma spent half the weekend with Nana and PawPaw again. Therefore, it was relatively quiet around here. Quiet in a good way. Quiet in a bad way. Both. R is for rain. Yesterday, all it did was rain. S is for Stan and Sheila. My in-laws. They came up for a visit from Tennessee. I love when they can come to visit, even if it is a short visit. T is for Taco Pizza. Went to Pizza Hut last night with The Hubs and the girls. Got our favorite pizza, gulped it down in three minutes since Evelyn was ready for bed, and I left Rob to wait for the bill. Gotta love dining out with the kiddos. No, really, NORMALLY, my kids are VERY well-behaved in public. They know better. U is for under the weather. Evelyn was running a fever this weekend. Her first ever in the first year. I credit it to breastfeeding, because it makes me feel good. My girls are relatively healthy little girls, and I am so thankful for that. V is for Veterans. Hand over your heart, ladies and Germs. Honor them all. Thank them all. Every day. Not just Memorial Day. W is for watch. I watched Dear John on Monday. Anyone else have a serious boy crush on Channing Tatum? Sob. Love that movie. Bonus points for being set in my favorite place on Earth. X is for eXtremely empty handed. I always come up empty when it comes to X. Y is for YouTube. So for your viewing pleasure, these are some of my favorite YouTube videos that I viewed recently.
Probably both old news to you all, but new to Always 20 Steps Behind Me. Z is for zany. Because that is me. Zany. Or something like that...
P.S. I just put snippets of my pictures. Stay tuned this week for more in future posts about my garden and our adventures at the lake.
These are my girls. The younger two are mine, and the oldest is my cousin's little girl. My older daughter is similar to her cousin that it really is unbelievable. Both blonde haired and blue eyed beauties, but that is all just superficial. What reminds me most of Izzy is the actions and the facial expressions! They really are, not only cousins, but kindred spirits as well!
My oldest daughter, Emma Claire, reminds me so much of myself when I was a kid. I loved dresses, but loved playin' in the mud and roughhousing with my Daddy too. She's my little Hillbilly Girl.
From the instant it hits 50 degrees outside, shoes are just an option. After all, you can't feel the mud between your toes if they are stuck inside some stuffy pair of tennis shoes!
Sandy haired, blue eyed. Just like her Daddy.
Lover of all God's creatures.
The best helper.
And isn't afraid of a little dirt. (Or to swim in compost for that matter. For those wondering, I do not condone the act of swimming in manure. However...oh, what the heck. It isn't gonna kill her!) By the way, I realize that by posting this picture, we look like the biggest hicks, BUT that is who we are, so...whatever!
Hey, at least she gets it honest! We are us. I am me. She is her. I wouldn't change any of it for the world.
Embrace your inner hillbilly!
Oh, one more thing. Check out these beauties! Aren't they fabulous!?!?!
loves: their two girls, each other (although they may fool you sometimes), their friends and family, game night, a good BBQ, summers at the lake, and squeezing in some reading time
Emma Claire
loves: reading, her horse TJ, preschool, and the park
Evelyn Rose
loves: her big sister, making messes, soaking up EVERYTHING, a good diaper change, boobs
