Diane and Chad | Childhood Myths

Brunch at The Whitney

May 20, 2013 By Diane and Chad Leave a Comment

What a beautiful day we had yesterday…in all ways! A gorgeous Michigan spring day, my most favorite people in the world, and a delicious brunch at an elegant, old Detroit mansion!!

love

Every single bite of food was amazing! From scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, and wonderful potatoes to jambalaya, shrimp and grits, beef and mashed potatoes, and prime rib. Then to a salad station and a bread station. After eating all this and having unending mimosas…upstairs to a dessert station!! I had bananas foster for the first time…yum!!!

S and L

C and S

Then the architecture…just incredible! Brunch is served in all of the many different rooms….a fireplace in each one, elegant service, happy people. I’d do it again in a minute:))

this is a ceiling!!

stairways and railings...

Maybe you remember how I love piano music….:) The piano player was stationed right next to us, and I was delighted by his masterful playing along with his absolutely engaging personality ( he just loved playing!)….

celebrating L's birthday...piano player played 'Happy Birthday' for her:))

Happy Parenting!

D and C

Filed Under: angels, appreciation, beauty, birthdays, fun, having fun, joyful, love, parenting, photos, smile

Super Saturday

May 18, 2013 By Diane and Chad Leave a Comment

Just a test for a possible Super Saturday to take the place of Joyful Thursdays. I can’t seem to make up my mind!

But I am grateful and happy for all kinds of things. So I will share some of those with you now under a temoporary name change:)))

1) I actually got to spend some time with my good buddy Bev who now lives in California…she was in the area so I went over to bug her a bit….loved every bit of it:))))

isn't she awesome?

2) I’m still enjoying the green of spring…the flowers on the trees are still hanging in there, so beautiful…and sunshine almost every day. Ahhh, lovely!

lilacs?? ....almost!

this little beauty will be huge!

another one growing its way to beauty

3) I just watched an hour-long program on TV with nothing but Nat King Cole singing. I love his mellow voice!! It made me head to the internet to see if I could find some of his songs to play on the piano!!

some of my dad's old songbooks:)

My head is still confused about how to continue my grateful pages. Hmmm, maybe I won’t name them a specific name. Maybe they’ll just appear whenever they appear! Unless folks are looking for them, I guess that part doesn’t matter. Are you looking for them under a certain name??

Happy Parenting!

D and C

Filed Under: beauty, carpe diem, changing blog, fun, giving thanks, happiness, Happiness Tuesdays, inspiration, intentions, joyful, joyful Thursdays, smile, special friend, spring, sunshine

10 Words

May 14, 2013 By Diane and Chad 1 Comment

Today’s “Every Day in May” post is called ‘Sell yourself in 10 words or less’

Hmmmm…I have some words to share, but whether they are actually who I am or who I would like to be …I’m not sure!

Family-oriented

Soft

Strong

Encouraging

Compassionate

Joyful

Particular

Loving

Intuitive

Determined

That’s it!! That’s all I’ve got…what do you think?? Did I sell myself? I guess that depends on …as what…right? Can you tell the subtext on some of the words?? Determined instead of stubborn…particular instead of picky…having both soft and strong together…I obviously am not sure whether my characteristics are perfect for anybody but me. But I do think I like myself as I am:))

yup, that's me:)

Happy Parenting!

D and C

Filed Under: behavior, carpe diem, goals, intentions

A Lovely Day

May 13, 2013 By Diane and Chad Leave a Comment

I had a delightful day yesterday with my favorite people in the whole world…these guys:

We had brunch where these two will be married this summer:

C and S:

with S’s Mom and Dad:

and her brother and sister (missing one brother)

S and L:

L’s Mom (missing her brother):

This beautiful day included brunch, flowers, wine and very special gifts that only my boys would know that I would LOVE…a weather station to replace a broken one and a very simple bottle of soap with a smell that I love…They always impress me with their caring, loving ways:))

Happy Parenting!

D and C

Filed Under: angels, brothers, families, family fun, family photos, flowers, giving thanks, joyful, joyful holidays, love, parenting, photos, receiving gifts, smile, thank yous

Happy Mother’s Day

May 12, 2013 By Diane and Chad Leave a Comment

Today is a day for celebrating moms. So hurray to my mom…the lovely Helen!!! I just found a few more photos to share with you. She will have to wait to see them until I visit again since she does not ‘do computers’!!

Happy Mother’s Day, Mom! Splurge on yourself and have some fun….I love you lots:)))

Everyone….celebrate your moms…they deserve it!

Happy Parenting!

D and C

Filed Under: appreciation, families, family photos, giving thanks, love, parenting, photos

Favorite Quote

May 10, 2013 By Diane and Chad 1 Comment

Some of my favorite bloggers have been doing an ‘Every Day in May’ blog….way too adventurous for me:)) But there are some great topics that I may have to try here and there during the rest of the month!

Today’s topic: What is your favorite quote?

That is not an easy thing for me to answer because I love inspirational quotes of all kinds. But one quote has been a part of my life for what seems like forever:

“DO WHAT’S BEST FOR KIDS!”

In all ways, at all times, by all people…this should be uppermost in all of our minds. Doing what’s right both educationally and emotionally for our kids will lead to the most important characteristics becoming those that lead these kids successfully into the future. Ignoring the academics doesn’t work, but neither does ignoring the emotional. For those who try to maintain a businesslike atmosphere in schools…shame on you! Learning comes in all forms but must be integrated into the whole person and all centers of the brain. Whether you are a parent, teacher, administrator, or businessman on the street….please use your brain and your heart to influence those who influence our children.

Whew! I guess I got that off my chest, huh?

Happy Parenting!

D and C

Filed Under: appreciation, behavior, beliefs, children, education, families, improving the world, inspiration, intentions, methods, parenting, quotes

Spring Beauty

May 9, 2013 By Diane and Chad Leave a Comment

What happened to Joyful Thursdays, you say….Yes, I still have many things that bring me joy. But…I have done over a year’s worth of Happiness Tuesdays and over a year’s worth of Joyful Thursdays. So it’s about time for another change…at least in name. Do you have any suggestions for me? Super Sundays…Sunshine Saturdays…What do you think??

Anyway, today we celebrate spring in all its glory. We have had the BEST week…warm and sunny and very much appreciated:))

beautiful tulips...just a short burst of loveliness!

the special green of new leaves

some still waiting for the green, some already there!

almost ready for blooms

blossoms a-blooming:)

just amazing!

if only we could call these lil stinkers wildflowers, I'd welcome them into my lawn!

Have a delightful spring day…make the most of the beauty around you!

Happy Parenting!

D and C

Filed Under: appreciation, beauty, carpe diem, flowers, giving thanks, goals, happiness, Happiness Tuesdays, inspiration, joyful, joyful Thursdays, photos, spring, sunshine

Quilts from Memories

April 27, 2013 By Diane and Chad 1 Comment

After completing quilts for both Chad and Scott….do you remember….made from t-shirts I kept after their dad died. Each quilt was made from more than 45 shirts, 12 x 12 squares or pieces formed into that size. My lovely neighbor sewed the pieces together after I pinned them in the order I wanted. Then I used batting and a backing and hand-sewed them together….YOW! I am. not. a seamstress and therefor wrecked my fingers on each quilt. BUT I loved that I could give each boy a lovely memory quilt to remind them of their most awesome father:)))

Here is Scott’s

7' across and 7' down!!!

And here is Chad’s

same size

After giving my fingers a break, I decided I needed a quilt of my own. So combining F2′s shirts with some of my old shirts also…here is the front of my quilt. I haven’t decided yet what to do with the back…less than I did with the boys, I think.