candice mclean

january 2012 | review

 

a drive through the country. b l u r

driving out to culpepper.

one of our many visits to barnes & noble.

chipotle. one of our favorite places for lunch.

playing guns with connor. a t t a c k

clementines. we ate so many of these in dec and jan.

playing with my f o o d.

oh how i have a love affair with target.

the monster high invasion.

one of our treasured dinner dates. love.

another love affair. this one is with my keurig.

greek restaurant and the kiddos order pizza and cheesebuger. huh?

love argyle tights.

photo a day challenge. saw this on fat mum slim blog and decided to play along.

i began here on jan 13th. in your bag. she has continued this fun project for february. #janphotoaday

sew wild by alisa burke was a gift from oldest daughter roan.

we love her book!!!

spaghetti dinner. love trader joes.

gosh i have a few love affairs going on.

my little brother. love you JJ.

roan and i reading from our kindles. i'm so caught up in young adult fiction. i try to read what she wants to read beforehand. i'm hooked.

old richmond train station. taken from I95. love this building.

beck higgins project life. received. now to begin.

h o o t _ h o o t

another car trip.

papa's house on the landing before the garage. love the texture.

my favorite snack. cucumbers.

wally and miss bailey. both are healthy.

went to see we bought a zoo. OMGosh. i absolutely adored this movie. the entire family was in agreement... best movie!

a saturday must.

more reading. this one is the latest from house of night. NO i do NOT recommend this series for tweens. too much for my 12 year old (sexual content, bad language, consumerism and alcohol). but i totally got suckered into it. and i'm anxious to see how the zoey redbird saga continures or ends.

these eyes melt my heart.

salvage yard in mechanicsville.

tulips. love. them. i used my new macro lens for my iphone. a christmas gift from chip - photojojo.

drive through the country. spotsylvania.

a barn in spotsylvania.

sleet/ice storm. no snow for us though.

chancellorsville battlefield

another january movie. war horse. honestly, this was not my favorite movie. the beginning was slow and drawn out. the atrocities played on the big screen were too vivid for my liking. the story itself is sad but beautiful.

sweet pea rubbing my feet. (heart)

another staple in the mclean household. b l u e b e r r i e s

mr doodles.

french onion soup from panera. (another love affair - panera)

a little mardi gras shopping at world market.

our last dinner in richmond. my ABSOLUTE favorite restaurant. mammazu's.

that nose.

took the girls shopping yesterday. when did they get so grown up?

almost there. two more days. so excited for this next chapter in our life.

 

mom and two girls in waiting room | parenting

where to start. hmm. i'm waiting in the doctor's office for a follow-up appointment and there's a mom with her two little girls. i'm guessing 4 and 2. mom is heavily sighing for the wait to see the doctor is taking a long, long time. i empathize with her at first for i'm alone with no children and i've have been patiently waiting for what seems like forever. okay maybe i was not internally being patient. a few exclamations ran through my mind. like OMGosh it has been almost an hour and i have not made it through the golden doors to the exam room. maybe something like that.

<begin sidenote> thank goodness for my kindle. i swear i am addicted to young adult fiction. i can't seem to break the spell. currenty reading switched by amanda hocking. it's good thus far. <end sidenote>

back to mom and two girls in a waiting room. well, the girls were being children. really, nothing bad at all. they were bored. hello... remember the heavy sighing from mom. i refused to look up, but i heard an exclaim from mom... something about spitting... and it's gross. then she loudly begins to correct the child. the office waiting room is pretty full and the air becomes real tense.

what aggravated me the most about this situation, was the way she corrected her child. her tone. and her volume. and more importantly her inability to remove herself and her child to a more private area. my heart went out to this little girl. the mom gave a speech. all too much in my opinion. publicly berating and scolding the child. i so wanted to intervene and just say hey everything will be okay. take a moment and breathe. i did not. i sat there and cringed. the little girl served her time out in the corner away from mom and younger sibling. yes. a public timeout. i'm telling you, it was truly uncomfortable.

okay just so we're clear. it's not that i don't believe in correcting children publicly. i have four children and trust me i correct my children if they are misbehaving despite the locale. however, i do not believe in humiliating your child publicly. i can speak from experience. as a child, being corrected publicly killed my self-esteem. there's nothing worse than being publicly scolded and humiliated in front of your peers.

today as i parent, i publicly discipline my children so they are clear no matter where we are they have to be on their best behavior. i believe in being consistent with discipline so my children know my expectations. i give a verbal warning once. consequence follows (loss of something they value like playing a video game or spending time with a friend). when needed, i remove myself and said child to a more private location or i simply leave. trust me that works best - nothing like leaving the ice cream parlor because someone was not behaving. i've left a basket full of items at target because it was time to go. i realize not all situations are easy to leave, but it has worked effectively for me.

what i suggest, know your children's schedule and their ability to function in specific public dwellings. like if it's nap time, let your child nap. you and your child will be happier. and i know it's not always easy but i would never take a child with me to my doctor appointment. in my opinion, it's not fair to you or your child.

these are my crazy thoughts. my ramblings. things that are leftover in my head at the end of the day. i'm not a parenting specialist, but the recent incident obviously flustered and stayed with me. i'm a bit isolated these days so you (whoever you are reading this) well you are like my bestie at this moment sharing a cup of coffee with me listening while i vent. ah. thank you so much. i feel better already. xo

hollywood cemetery | angels part two

a new week | a new list with some drama

holla it's monday and that means, there's a whole new week ahead. <attack mode>

[right now] the weather is too gloomy and cold outside so i'm hiding inside working from home. i have a little window that allows me to peek from behind my computer and spy on nature and the coming and goings of a few neighbors.

<sidenote begin> love to people watch. how many of you enjoy people watching? <sidenote end>

well, i'm hoping it warms up a bit and the sun extends a few of her rays for a bit and then maybe i'll escape my comfort zone. until then, i'm playing chicken and enjoying the outside from the inside of my retreat.

[this week's list]

1. mail the social security forms for my mother and brother. i despise the post office. it's the mundane task of driving there. wainting in lines. most of the time... long lines. long waits. then driving home. ugh. and i won't even bore you about the forms. ok i lied. one thing. i hate social security. it's the biggest pain in the ARSE. i've jumped through hoops people to get a little help for my mother (who recently had a stroke for those who are new to my blog) and my brother (who is severly disabled since birth). okay. i'm done. for now.

2. schedule grooming appointments for the pups. it's time to go get them spruced up.

3. doctor appointment. follow-up with the endocrinologist for my thyroid. healing quite well. just adjusting the meds so i function properly. that's where we're at.

4. pre-closing meeting. YES!!! we do our walk-through inspection this week and we are only <WAIT FOR IT> 8 days <EIGHT DAYS> away from signing our life away. oh i mean get the keys to our lovely new home. SO OVER THE TOP STINKIN' EXCITED! sorry i couldn't contain my excitement there. ahem... back to norm.

5. i have new photos to upload and edit. so excited to get these images out of the camera and onto my screen. wahoo.

6. register children for school. our homeschooling days are coming to a close. we're going back to school people. i have mixed feelings on this topic. i've enjoyed our time together more than anything! however, i am looking forward to more me time. i hate saying that out loud. i feel so selfish but there it is. northern va hosts some fantastic public schools so we're going to try them and see how it goes. i can work during the day while the children are learning. i will miss... our time together. being more involved with their day-to-day lessons and projects. exploring together. field-trips together. however i will not miss this kind of scenario...

me - "carys let me check your work. oh baby, i have some bad new. this is all wrong. remember, wait for me to read the instructions first. we'll have to re-work this page together."

carys - "WHAT? it's all wrong? NO mommy please, please don't erase the entire page and make me do it all over again." (she is very dramatic)

me - "well, sweetie. we have to do it correctly and mommy will sit here with you and help."

carys - (more drama) whinning. melting from chair to floor. sitting under the table for 30 minutes having a total cry-episode.

me - <reflecing inside my head> "Yep. i won't miss this at all."

7. thank you notes. i have yet to write one thank you note for christmas. i'm bad. so bad.

8. research blinds and ORDER. ugh. we have a gazillion blinds to buy. any suggestions on where to buy blinds? chip tasked me with getting 3 quotes. uhuh. well... i started with select blinds online per recommendation. next i'll check lowes. they give a military discount and i can see and touch the blinds - yes i'm visual and tactile. any other ideas? please send me info if you have it. and he wants cellular and i want faux wood. which is better? thoughts?

9. schedule utilities to transfer to our name. yes. we need electricity. water. trash pick-up. phone. cable. and most importantly internet. we're going with verizon fios. they have a great bundle deal. who uses what? comcast or fios? those are our options.

10. organize our stuff to transfer from papa's place to our place. prepping for the move. wahoo!

ok y'all. have a great week! xo

hollywood cemetery | angels

inspiration all around | music

[inspire] music simply said - inspires me. i always, always, always have music playing in the background when i'm working (journaling, editing photos, designing, painting). the energy, the rifts, the lyrics... it all comes together and i'm beaming with new ideas and inspirations.

[workout] i love to run with music jamming in my ears - like dog days are over by florence + the machine.

[moody] it eases my melancholy when i'm down or blue. when i'm feeling blue, i can always count on music to lift my my spirits.

here are some tunes that i'm loving on. take a peek and then go buy, buy, buy! [enjoy]

born to die by lana del rey. her cd is set to release jan 31st. so cannot wait to hear more.

barton hollow by the civil wars.

one more. my father's father also by the civil wars. love love love the video. their connection is so genuine.

what the water gave me by florence + the machine from her newest cd ceremonials.

mentioned above, dogs days are over by florence + the machine.

love snow patrol. new album just released jan 10th. loving this song - in the end.

emmylou by first aid kit

absolutely beautiful.

fashion @ hollywood cemetery | roan

photos taken at hollywood cemetery. more images of the actual cemetery to follow.

driving by the pasture

while healing after surgery, i just wanted out of the house so chip and i decided to take the kiddos on a few country drives. on our last one, we stumbled upon this pasture with cows. i had to stop and take a picture of these guys. so beautiful.

textures designed by jessica drossin.

thrifty tuesday | fashion

my tween daughter is all about fashion these days. one of her current favorite stoes is dELiA*s. my parents sent her a gift card for christmas and we finally went on a mini shopping spree. she purchased the purple sweater and the cute owl necklace from dELiA*s. both were on sale! and dELiA*s offers a military discount. love it when stores support their troops (& families too). have a great tuesday!