The Daily Toilings Of A Part Time Stay At Home Mom

We escaped reality on Sunday.  We went to the beach.  It had been a long and emotional week.  Although it was nice to get away from the home front, it was unmistakable that the families shape had changed again.  I felt it for the first time when my Nana passed, that knowledge that no holiday,  no family gathering, no day, would ever be the same.  In the beginning it is easy to block out that undeniable fact and the overwhelming pain that comes with it.  I think that is why we picked the beach.  And one of the most rowdy ones at that...Salisbury municipal beach.  Blaring live music, arcades, ice cream trucks and 900 million people going on with life like something MAJOR didn't just happen.  In that environment you let your brain turn off for a little bit and maybe for just a few moments take in the beauty of the ocean  enjoy your family, and then remember with a ache that Da...

Mothers Day A pictorial tribute to all the amazing women we call Great Grandmothers, Grandmothers, and Mothers.     Mom, Dad and me  Mommy and Noah  Great Grammy and Grampy McLean meeting Noah Me and my baby boy Mommy Amanda and cousin Connor Great Grandma Jaffe Mom and me  Grammy and Noah Great Grammy and Grampy Hanna meeting Noah Grammy Constance Isabella Shirlene Jaffe's Birthday Mommy and Bella Mommy Jen and cousin Carina Two pasty legs...Like mother like daughter.     

There is a long running joke in my family that wherever I go I leave something behind.  When I was little it was toys, clothes, backpacks and so on, now it is bottles, binkys, and bibs but the fact is I leave mementos of my visit wherever I go.  I remember my Nana getting so angry that "I didn't take better care of my things." This was after I left a very expensive doll on the school bus in first grade and it went missing.  I never really tried to NOT take care of my things but I guess I was hoping that if I left something behind I might get invited back, even if only to pick up my forgotten item.  Over the years I got better at taking care of my things.  I know when something has value whether it is emotional or monetary and THOSE items are treasured.  Yesterday was a rainy, dreary, crappy day.  The kind of day that I would call up my Nana and schedule a "little" visit.  I would drive down with Noah (pre-Bella) and she would ma...