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norose@dandeliondayz.com

Why Dandelion Dayz?

I labored over a name for this blog.   It was after my kids brought me a handful of dandelions that the name was born.

Dandelions grow in my yard sometimes and if I don't get to them in time those annoying puffy seeds blow all over and seed more dandelions. My kids have fun making wishes and blowing the puff ball all around.  They pick them when they are bright and yellow and proudly give them to me. We put them in a paper cup and admire them for a day until they die.

These are the days that my children see dandelions as flowers. They bring them in the house to me with love. They blow the puff balls around while making silly wishes.

My blog title is in honor of this time I have with them now.
It is a reminder to see the flowers of life instead of the weeds. 
To find treasures in the day-to-day. 

The Gang

I spend way too much time at this computer. But it has become a hobby.

Thanks for being here!

Buddy

My sweet little 6 pound dog. He's deaf and can't be trained to do anything I want him to do. But he is the sweetest and most lovable dog ever.

Elmo
Our newest addition. Puppies are a lot of work but he sure is cute!

Beach time - July 2007

Me, Hubby, Bubby, B.

We love to go to the beach for a week each Summer. It is great family time and provides for some very relaxing times.

B. and Bubby - March 2008

Umm. My lovies.

100 Things About Me

1. I didn't have my first child until I was 30. At times I am grateful for that and others when I am tired I wish I would have started younger.



2. My hubby and I dated for 5 years before we were married.



3. My great grandmother was a full blooded Cherokee Indian.



4. My grandfather was Irish.



5. This combination makes for a hot little temper.



6. I speak publicly about anger issues. Especially as a mom.



7. I used to be really terrified to speak publicly. Now I am just a little terrified.



8. I used to be a table side chef in a gourmet restaurant.



9. I love Jesus!



10. I didn't always know him.



11. Some good friends introduced us.



12. My life has not been the same since.



13. I have incredible friends.



14. My husband is my best friend.



15. My husband is crazy. A crazy, funny, quirky man.



16. He graduated Magna Cum Laude in Psychology at a private university and most would never know that about him.



17. He graduated early from high school and spent a year in South Africa. Again, many would never guess. Smarty Pants.



18. He is a superb golfer and works very hard.



19. I have 2 awesome kids that are also crazy, funny and quirky. They get that from him.



20. I sold real estate in Dallas for several years.

21. Other than real estate, I was in the hotel and restaurant business for most of my career.

22. I was born in England on an Air Force Base

23. I was raised in Missouri.

24. I don't watch much TV anymore.

25. But when I do, I love The Closer, 24, CSI, and HGTV

26. I am involved in several ministry positions at my church which always just amazes me. That they would let me lead anything, is a miracle in itself.

27. I absolutely love it, though.


28. I have only been out of the country to Mexico and Jamaica. I don't even have a passport. I would like to fix this.
29. I have been to 33 out of the 50 states, though. I love to travel the USA.
30. I want to go on some kind of mission trip very soon.
31. I have no issues with flying. At All.
32. Oh, except some little plane in Jamaica. That kinda freaked me out.
33. I love to eat.
34. I like to cook.
35. I love to try new restaurants.
36. I had my first child completely by natural childbirth. It was hard, but very rewarding.
37. The second one went a little differently as I had to be induced. Pitocin is evil and if I ever have another baby, they will have to have to hold me down to put that stuff in me again.
38. So, I had the epidural. It went much better after that.
39. I breastfed both of my kids until they were a year old.
40. I cried when they weaned.
41. I love my dog, Buddy. He sleeps on my pillow every night and sits in my lap most of the time.
42. He weighs 6 pounds and is a Maltese.
43. My 20 year high school reunion was this past August.
44. I had a great time seeing old friends.
45. I love shoes. I often buy a pair and build an outfit around them.
46. I have 2 brothers and so does my hubby. Not a sister between us.
47. I change my hairstyle a lot.
48. It has been long for a couple years, but has been about 4 or 5 different shades of brown or highlighted brown.
49. I enjoy bible study. I really love to dig deep into the bible and get to know God. I think it is the most interesting book on the planet.
50. I recently joined a book club and have had lots of fun reading some great fiction books. I have read more in the last year than I had in the 5 or 10 before that!
51. I keep a journal for each of my kids where I write to them. I hope they find it fun to have one day.
52. I scrapbook sometimes.
53. I wish I had more time to do that.
54. I love coffee. I drink about 4 cups each morning and everyone in my house knows they really should not ask me anything important until after I've had my first cup.
55. I am not a big eater in the morning, but feel so much better when I do have a nice healthy breakfast.
56. I love to workout. Especially kickboxing classes. See #5.
57. I don't have the time to workout that I would like, so you really can't tell by looking at me that I love to workout. But I do.
58. I am somewhat scatterbrained. I forget to shut the doors on my van sometimes and crazy things like that.
59. My mom, brother and niece live about 5 mintues from me. They moved from Missouri a couple years ago. Most of the time it is really great.
60. I have another brother in Georgia that just got married. She is a great gal.

61. I love to spend time with just my little family of four.
62. My husband and I have the best thing in common: we are not big planners.
63. My husband and I have the worst thing in common: we are not big planners.
64. We are great to go on vacation with...if you are not a big planner.
65. We want to redo our kitchen and are trying very hard to plan this out over the next couple years. It is pretty much a necessity when you talk about knocking down walls and such.

66. I have lived in only 3 states in my whole life: Missouri, Texas and now North Carolina. I never want to leave North Carolina. I love it here.

67. I think the South is an incredible place to live. I find the people here warm and gracious.

68. I love to garden. I am not a fantastic gardener, but am learning each year.

69. I have to remind myself of my grocery budget in the Spring as not to spend it on flowers to plant in my yard.

70. I have found that the less money I spend on a plant the better it grows. Weird but true. I have to find what works in my yard and stick with it.

71. I love Christmas, but find the hustle and bustle very stressful.





Okay, so it's in the works. I will update as I remember what things are actually interesting about me!

Some of my favorite posts

These are some that are dear to my heart. From the comments, I guess they appealed to you, too. That's how I selected them.


Keep Dancing
The Sound That Stopped My World 
Organizing My Kitchen/Homework Area
My Chicken Piccata Recipe
Watching
Gifts From the Sea
The Real Deal
The Plan
Going Postal
A Whole Vegetable Carrot and Sportacus
Step Away from the Computer
Speaking of Comparisons
Just a little Cycling Class
The Tale of Two Chickens
Seek With all Your Heart
Door of My Lips


If you have a favorite, please let me know. It is hard to judge your own writing sometimes and what really appeals to others.

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norose@dandeliondayz.com

About

I'm...

Janel

Wife of the Love of My Life

Mom to 3 Incredible Kids

Lover of Jesus

Dog Fan

I'm into...

The Bible

Serving Others

My Church

Healthy Eating

Exercise

Reading

Gardening

Social Media

Leadership

My family and friends

The Beach

 Being Joyful

Sometimes I...

Clean my House

Do Laundry

Make the Beds

Get it Right 

Why Dandelion Dayz? 

 

Thanks for being here!  I'm so glad you stopped in!

Souper Saturday

Okay, here's the deal with Souper Saturday.

I love soup. Most people love soup.
I don't have a lot of great soup recipes and found that you don't either.

So, I thought we could share.

Each Saturday during the colder months (or until this is not any fun anymore) I will host a carnival with a soup recipe and Mr. Linky for you to join in.

Grab the button if you would like.
Post your soup recipe on your blog and link back to me.
Link with Mr. Linky.

Link back to your soup post so folks don't have to go searching through your blog posts for that awesome soup recipe.

Okay, soups on! See you Saturday!

More on wounds

Today in a devotion from Proverbs 31 ministry titled Scars, I was reminded of maybe why God sometimes allows pain in our lives. I talked in a previous post about wounds and how God holds me while healing the wound. In one instance in my life the wound is from my childhood, and in my constant attempt to "Band-Aid" the wound, I have found it showing it's ugliness in terrible ways as an adult. For me it was and still occasionally continues to be anger. Short, quick bouts of anger with those closest to me followed by terrible remorse later. In my effort to control my environment, I often lost control of my emotions. I often reacted to what my imagination was telling me and not the reality of the situation. And I never trusted my God to be big enough so that I could surrender the pain of the wound and let Him have ultimate control over my life.

Recently, I have been asked to speak on anger to a group of moms. I find this both an honor and also ask myself, why me? I think it is an important subject because I really believe that more moms deal with anger than they want to admit. And I think at the root of this anger and frustration lies fear. I think this fear shows up in many disguises and it's hard define. I may explore this some in my posts in the upcoming months as I prepare for this talk. I would love any of your feedback!

So, back to the devotion today, based on the following scripture:
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. II Corinthians 1:3-5 (NIV)

The writer, Karen Ehman, goes on to say talk about scars from old wounds and how really amazing it is in that God constantly outsmarts the enemy. She says this, "While the enemy loves to trip us up and make us fall, God desires that we walk in a way that honors Him and makes His name known. Rather than letting the pains and wrong choices of our past defeat us, rendering us unfit for God’s service, God will make use of our mistakes and our less-than-perfect circumstances. He can take our willingness to open up about them, being real rather than plastic, to encourage a weary traveler along life’s journey."

Those that know me, know I am a pretty open book. Sometimes, I agree that I may provide TMI and I realize many can't handle my "putting it all out there." My desire is truly to be authentic with people. I don't try to pretend that I am something I am not. This is who I am - past mistakes, wounds and all. You see, God loves me in spite of these. And through Him, the wounds of my past are healed and forgiven. I don't have to carry shame for them anymore. I LOVE that I am a new creation through Christ. I love that my past makes me who I am today and can be used for good. I really think that my wounds can help to heal similar wounds of others. Not only do I think this, but more importantly God does! He says this in the scripture above. ...the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. Actually, I can look to the wounds of my past now and almost celebrate them. Not excusing my past mistakes of course, but hopefully, someone else will learn from them by me sharing my experience. Someone else can heal or grow from them. Or someone can find healing in a wound inflicted by another. Mostly that someone else can find freedom from their own past.

Here is the devotion, btw. Scars

My 6 year old is smarter than me

Yeah, this is a long time coming admission, but she is smarter than I am and it is really all because of the darn tooth fairy. The kid lost 2 more teeth ON THE SAME DAY. You can see why we are concerned she is pulling them out for the cash. So, she puts them under her pillow 2 nights ago and - okay, you are going to laugh at me, but I will share this anyway because I too really can't believe it happened. The tooth fairy did not come -again! (Read post below titled Absent Tooth Fairy for clarity here) She did come the next night. So, the deal with our tooth fairy now is that she lives far far away and it takes her a long time to get to our house.

Later that morning B says to that she thinks the tooth fairy is really me. SHOCKING! I ask her why and she says...."Because the glitter the tooth fairy leaves behind on my pillow is the same glitter that you keep in your bathroom drawer." And here I thought the glitter was a nice touch, but it is actually giving me away! Of course, to continue my total farce of the tooth fairy, I explain that the tooth fairy uses all kinds of glitter and that maybe she even used my glitter. B looks at me for a long time and settles for this explanation. I get a little more serious with her and ask what she wants to believe about the tooth fairy. She says, "What all of my friends believe." Okay, that means that I am not the tooth fairy which is so great because if she really knew it was me forgetting about her teeth instead of the tooth fairy it might ruin my image as the perfect mother. ;)

High School Musical 2 Premieres!

Wow, whew and just unbelievable! That's all I can say after a weekend of premiere parties for High School Musical 2. Wow - that Disney can premiere a movie on cable TV and kids as young as 6 are having parties to celebrate and yes, of course, with their crazy parents hosting them! Whew - B went to 2 of them this weekend and is exhausted from the late nights. Unbelievable - it's a cute movie. Some say overacting, some say cheesey, but you know what - it has a happy ending, lots of singing and dancing and it's fun! It is a feel good movie for kids and happy endings are what Disney does best. We like happy endings around here!

I was concerned about how the lead characters kissed and had a little love spat. B actually cried a little bit over this. HASH even made the observation that he is starting to understand why raising girls can be harder than boys because there is so much more drama! So, I tried to talk to her about this tonight and prepared myself for what the conversation might be like. I thought she might have some questions. I guess I was just a little worried that she had been exposed to the boyfriend/girlfriend thing a little too young with this movie. But, she just stopped me before I could even begin and said, "Mom, it's just a movie! " Whew, I'm so glad we've got that figured out.

Year Round School

So, B. started school about 3 weeks ago. Track 4 of a year round schedule. It is the most like a traditional calendar. She mostly loves it and feels all grown up to be in first grade. She told me today that the Kindergartners look so little this year! Also, that in first grade you have to be a lot more serious. It does feel weird to be in school in the middle of summer, though. I can't quite let go of my laid back summer attitude and yes, it did really mess with our pool time. But alas, "they" say this year round calendar will open more spots for students and that students retain more because there is less time in between each grade. Okay, we'll see how it goes...

Small Inspirations

I chose the title for this blog from the words of a song that I love, called Add To The Beauty by Sara Groves.

We come with beautiful secrets * We come with purposes written on our hearts, written on our souls * We come to every new morning * With possibilities only we can hold * Redemption comes in small places, small spaces * Calling out the best of who we are * To tell a better story * It comes in small inspirations.

Lots more to that song and album -great album. It reminds me a lot of Sarah McLachlan so if you like Sarah McLachlan, you'll like Sara Groves. She is a mommy too and writes some great songs about family, kids and being a mom.

So, most of my inspirations are small ones. It's not like I have anything to say that might make the papers, but more like something happens in my life and I find inspiration. I meet a person who inspires me. Like my uncle's wife who can hang drywall and treats her own house for termites. Wow - I am inspired to do more myself before calling the repairman!
My son hits his head and gets stitches - I am inspired by God and how he heals us. More to come on that in my next post. I am inspired by the people who serve at my church! I heard somewhere that it takes close to 700 volunteers per weekend to make our church the great place that it is. WOW - now that's inspiring. I am inspired by people who go out of their way to make a difference in this world without some big political agenda like, Bono and film maker Richard Curtis. Or my friends from my hometown. So many are dedicated and talented teachers. One ADORES teaching 4th grade - wouldn't you love for her to teach your kid? One is a high school teacher who worked with senior girls to raise $16,000 for 10 different charities! Or the ones that just do little things to make it a happier place - letting someone in traffic or go first in a buffet line. Taking a meal to a sick friend or just calling to check up.

Small inspirations. Wasn't it Mother Theresa who said, " You can do no great things, just small things with great love." The small things matter! It's the spark that ignite the fire.

Stitches

Well, we had our first trip to the emergency room this weekend for L. From what I hear from other parents - the first of many with a little boy. Ugh, this is not something I want to experience a lot. Aside from the blood and the gash in his little head, the 5 hour wait in the ER is no party. When it finally came time to get his stitches, the PA explained what he would do. He explained how the nurses would restrain him and that he would cry not because it hurt but because of being restrained. It reminded me of when he was a baby and he was a bit jaundice. They had to prick the bottom of his little foot and press blood into this small vile to test his biliruben levels. I had to hold him him down while the nurse did this and he was only 3 days old. He was not a happy camper and he looked straight at me as if to say, "I came out into the world for this!???!"

So, this time they wrapped him in this sheet. The nurse told him it would be like a sleeping bag. Great, so, now I just hope this won't affect sleepovers for the rest of his life! Anyway, they wrap him up in this sheet, lay him down and 2 nurses come in - one to hold his body and the other his head so the PA can stitch him up. The screaming begins... " This scares me!" " I don't like this!" "Mom, make it stop!" Oh gosh, just pull at a mother's heart why don't you? I tell him, "I would love to make it stop, sweet one but this is what is best for you right now. I want them to do this so they can fix the big boo boo on your head." The PA cleans out the wound and stitches him up carefully . Of course,we want the least amount of scarring like it never happened. The guy tells us, "There will be scarring." It will be minimal, but it will always be there. " A slight rememberance of this mishap in his life.

So, I got to thinking about this later. I do this a lot - seemingly normal things as a mom remind me of God. How many wounds have I had in my life that needed healing while God held me? Wounds from my childhood, teenage years and even some more recently as an adult. It's like a wound is still open, but I just bandaged over it and coped the best I could, too fragile to let the wound be exposed and cleaned out. The coping mechanism becomes like an ugly infection that needs to be taken care of and no longer can I ignore the wound. Taking the "bandage" off and exposing an old wound can be a painful but necessary task. It hurts and like my son, I cry out in fear, "Make it stop!" But just like I was holding my little guy, God holds me and says, " I would love to make it stop, sweet one, but this is what is best for you right now. We gotta expose this wound, deal with it and move on!" So, I hang on tight, dealing with my old wound and let God lead me through the healing. There may be minimal scarring on my soul but only a slight rememberance of a mishap in life. ...and by his wounds we are healed.

Why Blog?

Well, I am not really sure why blog? I seem drawn to it for some reason. I have a need to record some musings of my mind, the activities of my family and share it with you if you choose.

I recently listened to CD a friend gave me. Donald Miller, author of Blue Like Jazz - a favorite book of mine, was the speaker. His topic - Let Story Guide You. I won't spoil this for you too much because he is releasing a book in January. What I got from his talk was this - that our lives are stories and we are the authors. So, maybe blogging is to help write a "story" that is interesting and one that people want to "read" after I am gone. Because really good stories are timeless and they live on long after the authors are gone.

Or maybe it's just a place to be a proud mama and share pictures of my kids! We are a busy family with a lot to share.

Beware, I will talk about my sweet 2 kids much, my wrestlings with God & faith and my crazy but beautiful family. I really believe that through encouragement and love we can best communicate with others. I hope you find that here.

By the way, Donald Millers books and website are listed here. I met him at a convention last year and he is truly a man with a kind heart and a great sense of humor. Both of which cause him to write great stories!

So, I am going to give this a shot. I have lots to add and do on here - this is only my first post! I really am such a novice at this.

Awards - Thank you!

Thank you Kim at Situationally Single Mom!




Both From LeAnn at Tollsons4Him

From Rebecca at Musings of a Mum of 4

From Jenn at The Peacock's Nesting Place

More love from LeAnn at Tollsons4Him

And even more from LeAnn and also from Jen at Cheaper Than Therapy

Oh, another one from Rebecca at Musings of a Mum of 4!

Thank you ladies - YOU ROCK!