tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23788070809046026452024-02-19T10:43:21.307-05:00the whisk and hammerThe Barnes Family Adventures...
Psalm 103Dawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17799011737698687257noreply@blogger.comBlogger52125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2378807080904602645.post-54086833950780025192010-06-28T21:52:00.003-04:002010-06-28T22:20:27.423-04:00Pajamas...a rite of passage?Luke, my oldest, will be six years old in fourteen days. Fourteen days...what? I can't believe it. First grade is breaking the horizon and I seriously just can't believe it. When he was young...not that six isn't young...maybe around two or so...Jon looked at me and said, "Why don't you just let him wear shorts and a t-shirt for bed? It's just easier." I thought about it for a minute and said, "Dawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17799011737698687257noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2378807080904602645.post-47986976280916267612009-08-07T13:08:00.002-04:002009-08-11T08:30:10.305-04:00I wonder...How my kids know they should all get up at various times in the middle of the night on the one night I have decided to hit the hay early? It’s an amazing phenomenon…Why my kids wake up at five a.m. on the mornings we have no reason to be awake and sleep in on the days we must be up early. Really? Must it be every.single.time. Talk about amazing phenomenon’s…How at least one child will have an Dawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17799011737698687257noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2378807080904602645.post-87087129361636530752009-07-11T22:01:00.006-04:002009-07-14T15:25:39.378-04:00Come Back Please...Come back please.No.Come back now.I don’t want to…I want to go with them.I know but…Please let me go with them…He was desperate…he turned his back to me and continued to make his way down the middle of the creek to play with the “big kids”. He teetered and tottered over the slick rocks…he slipped a few times but stood up…I winced…he looked back at me and smiled…I tried again…Luke! Luke! Come backDawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17799011737698687257noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2378807080904602645.post-6417154304612969692009-07-07T12:21:00.005-04:002009-07-07T12:43:41.601-04:00Out of the Valley...I got tickled and thought that this must be what it is like to live in a commune. All of us…laid out in an empty bedroom…sometimes I really wonder how my kids get through the night when I see how they contort their bodies in their sleep…I totally scored…had the entire air mattress to myself. Blinking…the light in the bathroom was on and in my face…it must have been about 4:30 am. It was raining. Dawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17799011737698687257noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2378807080904602645.post-90786624469767752252009-07-02T22:39:00.002-04:002009-07-02T22:49:22.406-04:00Liberate yourself...I recently went to see John Rosemond speak…I have read a few of his books about parenting and, I have to admit, I drunk the Kool-Aid when it comes to his philosophy on raising kids using more traditional discipline “methods”. I say, “methods” because I don’t recall him speaking about specific techniques like, time out or some fancy shmancy something or other that supposedly works. He Dawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17799011737698687257noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2378807080904602645.post-8826166298972883922009-06-11T12:07:00.003-04:002009-06-11T20:32:49.792-04:00The First Cap and Gown....Uh-oh…it’s on! Luke graduated from preschool yesterday with a full on graduation commencement at his daycare (moving tassels over and all)! It really was so sweet. I was taken back to the “pre-kid Dawn” when I said to myself and aloud, “Those little kids graduations are so stupid and a waste of time. I mean, why does a 4 year old need a cap and gown and all that nonsense? My kids will NEVER Dawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17799011737698687257noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2378807080904602645.post-88614802334072768582009-06-02T13:52:00.000-04:002009-06-02T13:53:54.783-04:00Happy HeartMy son Henry is getting ready to turn three in a few weeks. Someone told me recently that your children’s personalities at a young age are pretty much the same as they mature…this news made me smile a deep happy smile when I mentally mulled over my kids personalities. We are blessed in this way. When my thoughts turned to Henry as an adult…I laughed out loud. I would describe him as clever, Dawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17799011737698687257noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2378807080904602645.post-53619316121041330552009-05-21T12:50:00.001-04:002009-05-22T12:27:29.270-04:00When I Grow UpAfter many, many efforts to go back to sleep at 4:00 am…after hitting snooze no less then 5 times…after coming up with every excuse on why it would not be in my best interest to get out of bed and workout this morning….45 minutes had passed on a wasted conversation with myself. I completely guilted myself into it…I was WIDE awake and have no idea why it’s so difficult to just freaking get out of Dawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17799011737698687257noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2378807080904602645.post-44504135531980329392009-05-18T21:19:00.003-04:002009-05-18T21:34:41.859-04:00Stress Equals ChangeWelcome back to me! It’s been a long time…things are just busy and it’s difficult to find the time to just sit, think and type all at the same time. But, here I am. The baby is now eight and a half months old and is cruising all over the house and boy is he a big’un! Huge. Not a roly poly type big, but in a dense bones big. He has an incredibly peaceful disposition and crazy smile. Henry is Dawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17799011737698687257noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2378807080904602645.post-74929533327824856642009-03-12T13:25:00.002-04:002009-03-12T13:48:28.410-04:00He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands….My kids love this song. I remember loving it too. We sing, sing, sing this song over and over and over again…and often! We pretty much name every single person my kids have ever met, every single cartoon character they have ever watched and pretty much every single object within sight. We have also sung about how He has “toot” and “poop” in His hands if that tells you anything, which always gets Dawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17799011737698687257noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2378807080904602645.post-739366035665635712009-02-21T21:18:00.014-05:002009-02-27T21:23:56.965-05:00All my Dreams Have Come True....Luke woke early, early Saturday morning and crept into our room, hopped in our bed, gave me a cuddle and whispered in my ear, "Mommy, I had a dream last night that I swung higher on my swing then I ever did and I got on it all by myself..." "Neat...", I said drowsily, "…now let’s go back to sleep...it's still nighttime." He didn't. He wanted to talk about the swing...so we chatted in a sleepy Dawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17799011737698687257noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2378807080904602645.post-81344915068179515862009-02-13T21:33:00.007-05:002009-02-15T22:29:46.236-05:00The "Who's Staying Home Stare Down"...I went back to work in the middle of January...it's been a healthy four weeks and I have not worked a "full week" since I have been back. I feel ashamed about that even though I'm trying not too....sickness, a funeral, snow days...it's really all of out my control. I realize that at the end of the day and on my death bed, I will not say, "Gosh, I JUST wish I could have gone into work that day Dawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17799011737698687257noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2378807080904602645.post-5214653870449573122009-02-11T21:59:00.011-05:002009-02-13T00:10:09.419-05:00Psalm 40I, along with most people, have been pondering the times we are in. It feels like limbo...waiting for it to get better, wondering what will happen, and hoping for the best. What is up with the bail outs, the gas price fluctuation, the cost of chicken alone is astonishing, bankruptcy, job loss...good grief! Not sure if everyone can feel the change, but there seems to have been a seismic shift in Dawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17799011737698687257noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2378807080904602645.post-86641733390987216222009-02-08T20:53:00.012-05:002009-02-08T22:31:08.420-05:00The Efficient Multi-TaskerIf I had to describe myself, I would call myself an "efficient multi-tasker"...I mean, it's on my resume and everything. I make lists upon lists...I have a list for the working mornings, the weekend mornings, a grocery list, a weekly and monthly list and even an on-going list of things that hopefully will get done in my life time...oh yeah, I have Jon's list that also falls into the "things I Dawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17799011737698687257noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2378807080904602645.post-81939296880217718792009-02-01T22:30:00.006-05:002009-02-02T20:15:05.222-05:00My GrandmotherWe received the sad news that my grandmother died on Saturday. I was not surprised to get the call because her health had deteriorated significantly over the last year, but I was deeply saddened by the news. I wouldn't say we were as close as some people are with their grandmothers, I'm not really sure why but I loved her dearly and feel the weirdest void. She lived most of her life in the Dawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17799011737698687257noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2378807080904602645.post-20623099650815854352009-01-23T11:38:00.026-05:002009-01-27T21:36:57.504-05:00Working mom epiphany...I was sitting on my stoop this week (freezing) contemplating my "working mom dilemma"...since the day I took Luke to daycare four years ago, I have always felt unbelievable moments of overwhelming guilt...multiply that by 3 and you get lots and lots of very weird guilty moments. I get through it...it doesn't last long and I can completely justify being a working mom on so many levels...it works Dawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17799011737698687257noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2378807080904602645.post-33867660783250936842009-01-20T21:31:00.004-05:002009-01-20T22:49:39.521-05:00Our kids will never know...I know I am writing 2 posts in under 30 minutes, but I must comment on the inauguration that happened on this snowy day in January. In the South, snow is either just barely enough to shut down the city or unpredictably too much and everyone is completely unprepared for it...today, it was just enough for us Southerners to not only shut down every school in a 100 mile radius but made us vulnerable Dawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17799011737698687257noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2378807080904602645.post-38726225269618831712009-01-20T13:46:00.008-05:002009-01-20T22:22:31.449-05:00MLK WeekendWow...what a weekend. This weekend has marked our laziest weekend ever since we have had kids. It was cold out, we had firewood and enough food to feed an army. It sounds like we were out on the prairie or something...we weren't on the prairie but we were almost reclusive, which was actually really nice in a lot ways. I have recently made a couple of decisions about our lifestyle based on the Dawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17799011737698687257noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2378807080904602645.post-46254023642719432592009-01-16T23:16:00.002-05:002009-01-16T23:24:58.033-05:00Crock Pot Love...Am totally in love with my crock pot and we have mended our relationship. I "made" completely wonderful BBQ chicken. It was so, so good...so happy to be back together with my crock pot. Now, I did pick Luke up from daycare and very excitedly told him that we were having his fav...BBQ Chicken. He just looked at me and said, "I don't remember liking BBQ Chicken." I said beaming, "You do like it andDawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17799011737698687257noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2378807080904602645.post-27384064321314863382009-01-14T21:36:00.003-05:002009-01-14T22:08:57.924-05:00"Curses!..."I don't really believe in curses, but I love to say that word out loud rather then cuss...it's just so...funny but harsh and simpsonlike. Like I said, I don't really believe in curses BUT there are a few things that really seem to "get me"...I can name 2...there is a restaurant in Charlotte that I love...it's kinda Tex Mex and the food is fresh and yummy. Like a lot of restaurants on this street Dawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17799011737698687257noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2378807080904602645.post-27820796850861612272009-01-13T20:34:00.004-05:002009-01-13T22:36:08.908-05:00Incredibly Fantastic Birthday WeekendIn my tirade yesterday, I completely forgot to mention my absolutely perfect 40th Birthday weekend at Pinehurst Spa with my dearest friends...I could go on and on about the spa, the rooms, the grounds, the customer service...but when it is all said and done we could have been in a paper box on the side of the road and I would have had a grand time because I was with seven of the people I know Dawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17799011737698687257noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2378807080904602645.post-6369675354923874032009-01-12T18:31:00.006-05:002009-01-12T23:36:48.209-05:00OH MY GA....After a splendid, blissful birthday spa weekend with all my favorite friends...the day to go back to work has come and gone. Let's just say I was GROSSLY ill prepared for getting myself and 3 kids ready for this day...it all started around 3 am when the baby got restless...Henry came rolling in our room around 3:30 am with an armful of stuffed animals and books then Luke followed around 4:00 am Dawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17799011737698687257noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2378807080904602645.post-59248216465745208032009-01-07T19:31:00.009-05:002009-03-01T14:51:23.030-05:00It was a good day...Am feeling much better then my melancholy day yesterday about going back to work...I talked to my boss for a while...got out of my pajamas...had some good coffee. There really is something to just getting out of bed. Jon told me on Monday that he had planned to take Wednesday, Thursday, Friday off...my initial thought (sorry Jon) was "why?" I mean, it's my last week, I want to be alone in my Dawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17799011737698687257noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2378807080904602645.post-40912215990868097272009-01-06T13:51:00.002-05:002009-01-06T14:56:42.687-05:00All good things must come to an end...What a crazy, crazy 2008...it's so crazy that it's hard to even think of what some resolutions might be as we have no idea of what's really to come. At least we had a nice long Christmas, New Year and I am still celebrating the big 4-0! My wonderful husband celebrated 10 days of "Dawnakah" for my birthday. I received 10 days of gifts since the day after Christmas up until January 3rd...who knew Dawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17799011737698687257noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2378807080904602645.post-61561790613063483052008-12-24T00:31:00.003-05:002008-12-24T00:47:56.573-05:00Angels...Today Luke was in the back of the car watching the Incredibles...out of the blue he said, "Can God make tools?" Before I could answer...he came out with..."or do the angels make them and bring them down to earth?" Not exactly sure how to answer, I said, "God can make tools...I think the angels can bring them down?" Totally unsure...I mean, why didn't I just say "Yes"? Impatiently he said, "Well Dawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17799011737698687257noreply@blogger.com0