bee and rose

We've been recovering from a nasty grumpy bug that came for a very unwelcome visit last week. The wee folk in our household seemed to be a bit "out of sorts." Rudeness and mayhem were in abundance in our fair dwelling. Even Chilly was growling at his socks and bad foot. So of course, I did what any good doctor would recommend...I rented a bunch of movies, consulted Mrs. Piggle Wiggle and played cards with my parents. I must say Mrs. Piggle Wiggle's Fighter-Quarrelers Cure was just the ticket to restore harmony at the Bee and Rose Manor. (The Tattletale Cure and Interrupter Cure did their part to help too!) Thank you, Mrs. Piggle Wiggle, for your wonderful wisdom! I cannot recommend Mrs. Piggle Wiggle and her sage advice enough! (I'm sure you could apply her wisdom to surly co-workers, persnickety spouses and annoying siblings too...) We also watched the movie "Inkheart" ....it's FANTASTIC! Catherine and I watched it twice in one afternoon bec...

My husband and his father have a charming “phone” ritual that always makes me smile. Every call they share begins with “What’s the story?” I am a lover of stories. I love reading them, listening to them and writing them. Whether it’s a group of preschoolers gathered at the library for storytime, friends regaling each other with their vacation adventures, or reading a bedtime story to a child…stories are what connect us to each other. I love that stories come in many shapes and sizes….shared through the written word, woven in song, and played out in films. Stories are created with works of art. Beautiful stories are shared through dance. Some of my favorite stories are in photographs…a picture really is worth thousands of words. My kids love our photo albums…they are our family story. I began to read a fairytale to my daughter the other day that began with the classic “ Once upon a time” …just after I spoke those magical words, Catherine si...

Did You Know Tuesday is a new creation by me because I'm trying to get my bloggy groove back. Did You Know Tuesday is purely my lame way of writing a blog post because my brain function is at zero....Please accept my apologies in advance for any boredom you may incur while reading...Here we go... DID YOU KNOW... that peace has arrived at the magical land of Bee and Rose? No medical dramas playing out with Chilly...Tween Caveboy survived his 24 hour flu (though it was not pretty and Mommy didn't sleep for 2 days...)...Irish Dancer Girl lived through her grueling dance schedule last week....Mommy finally has time to blog...that in itself is a major miracle... sigh..... DID YOU KNOW... that my bloggy will be undergoing some construction soon?...As Chilly would say whenever trying to weasel out of trouble..."We ask that you bear with us during this transistion." Thanks! DID YOU KNOW... that apparently, Cat Butts are all the rage these days? I have a cat, Shadow, and...

I am NOT living in a time warp....I am NOT posting a NOT ME Monday post on a Tuesday.....I would never be such a lame-o....(I did NOT keep picturing these creepy characters singing "Let's Do The Time Warp Again" while typing the words above....I do NOT have that song stuck in my head now....oy...) ************************************************************************************* I am NOT extremely frustrated after spending many hours trying to comment on various blogs only to have this happen....After typing my comment, I am prompted to select a profile. When I click on google account, I get nothing. I click on post comment...still nothing...I went around trying to spread my comment love all over the place and discovered my comments were NOT being received. ARGGGHHH! This isn't happening on every blog I visit, just the ones that appear to have comments embedded in a post. (Pop-up window comments are still working fine.) I've tried to select other profiles...

Did you hear that? Did you hear that thumping sound coming from your computer? That would be me beating my head against the wall....actually, it would be me crashing into the wall. It finally happened....I hit the wall of despair. I am completely overwhelmed, exhausted and frustrated by the events of the last two months, not to mention the last two years. Typically, I am a pretty happy go lucky little bee. The last few weeks...not so much. The last few days....grrrr.....(two sick kids and a sick mommy....not a fun combination....) I haven't been around the blogs much. I've thrown up a post here and there, but with the "behind the scenes of it all", my commenting/stalking time has been cut DRASTICALLY. I really miss visiting with my bloggy buddies. I've tried to do a wee bit of stalking here and there, but I'm always getting interrupted with some sort of disaster that needs averting. One of the nasty time cutters has been a health condition of my ow...

I've got a confession to make... In honor of the midnight release of the Twilight dvd, I am going to let the bat out of the coffin and fess up to something you may not know about me. I love Vampire Chick Lit. I can already hear some of your brains wrapping around the weirdness of me reading Vampire love stories. It's true...I love them. I think the roots of my love began for me in my youth watching this show... The vampire chick lit marathon started last year at the library. There was this super hottie with shades hiding in the dark recesses of the fiction area. I felt this weird vibe that he wanted to bite me. I tried to get away but he managed to pop up wherever I was headed! Finally, he captured me in the cookbook section (stop snorting, Chilly), tilted my head back, fangs popped out and then... Ok, so I'm making that up. (hee hee hee) Actually, I was waiting for my kids to choose their books when the library lady plopped down a stack of books to put away. On top of the ...

(Today I am taking a cue from my dear friend, Pam and re-visiting a post from my early days. It's silly and reminds me how much I love my Grandma Gigi and her Pop-Tart eatin' ways! I am taking a day of rest so I can get back to my super stalking, comment love spreadin' ways tomorrow! Hope you have an iron stomach!) My grandma Gigi eats PopTart and bologna sandwiches . PopTarts as the bread part and bologna as the filler! Oh...and they have to be strawberry PopTarts. What the?! The first time I saw her do this I stared in disbelief. She giggled and kept eating it. "It's good!" she assured me. "Hey, if it works for you, Gigi, then I'm good," I smiled (a fake smile because inside I was mortified!) "You want me to make you one?" she asked, licking her lips. This is a sandwich that I can't even be in the same room with, let alone attempt tasting it. "No thank you," I ran from the roomi in horror. Seriously, Gigi?! PopTarts an...

Yet Another Jay and Deb Production. I am paying my Tuesday's Tribute to Chilly. Today we celebrate our first Heartaversary. What is a Heartaversary, you ask? Well, settle in with a cuppa and let me weave a tale of wonder... One year ago today I was pacing the waiting room floor of University Medical Center in Tucson waiting for my husband’s surgeon to inform me if Chilly had survived his triple bypass. I’ll spare you the sordid details of how all this came about. I’ll just say that it was very fast and unexpected. The prospect of losing my spouse in my early 40’s wasn’t in my plan obviously. My plan was more of a “hanging with the kiddos, going to the Renaissance Faire, beating my son at Guitar Hero, driving my husband crazy for decades” kind of plan. But God always has a bigger plan for us. In this case, he was trying to keep Chilly on the planet for a while longer. As I have written before, Chilly has had two very challenging years. He has been a diabetic for a couple of decade...

At the risk of exposing my true geekness, I pose this question to you.... Who did you have hanging on your wall "back in the day?" Here's who I had...it was the 70's and I was a tween... Don't laugh! Oh, all right...laugh! But don't laugh at my dear sweet David Cassidy! Bay City Rollers Rex Smith I'll even admit to having these too! I'm gonna let my geek flag fly! Tony DeFranco (and Family) Donny Osmond (In my defense, as a teen, I had Bono & U2 hanging on my wall.) This is who Chilly had hanging on his wall... (Chilly is sitting at his desk right now drooling... I know you are, Chilly...) Jacqueline Smith This is who Chilly has on his wall now... (Chilly has a man crush on The Rock) This is who I have hanging on my wall now... (Long stringy hair...from mythical lands... lovin' their swords....hmmm) Now it's your turn to let your poster geek flag fly! Happy Wednesday! p.s. Jillene reminded me of Shaun Cassidy! Does anyone remember Bo D...