Bring On Lemons

disclaimer: This post may not appeal to anyone much less everyone - I am not going to over-analyze it so I would appreciate only supportive comments. This is a dream about a miscarriage, so with that warning, please do not read this if that topic is going to disturb you.  Crazy Pregnancy Dream I had such an awful dream last night. I know pregnancy dreams are supposed to be vivid and wild, but this one was ridiculous. About 2 weeks before delivering Carmen (my now 6 year old) I had a dream that I gave birth to a cat. I woke up very angry at the nurses for not telling me. I thought that dream took the cake, but this was far worse. Things began normally - we were playing in the yard as a family. Everyone was there, my 6 year old daughter Carmen, 5 year old son Andre, and my husband Mark. We were playing tag and checking out all the goodies in the garden. Andre reached over to rub my tummy and say hello to his new little brother Breccan. As he did so, he looked up at me asking w...

The Tenth Circle By Jodi Picoult Review by Crystal J. Casavant-Otto   The Tenth Circle by Jodi Picoult, published by Washington Square Press is a fabulous work of dramatic fiction. The paperback version was released in 2006 and I’m ashamed to say that it took me this long to lay my hands on it. This is a great book for young adults as well as those who are young at heart. The Tenth Circle appealed to me as a parent but vividly brought me back to those years of middle school and high school.  Devoted husband and father, Daniel Stone, is brought back to his own childhood as he struggles to put the pieces of his family puzzle back together. The story and the characters are sure to draw you in and take your breath away. The rebellious artist falls in love with the good girl and gets her pregnant. Fast forward fifteen years and the comic book artist is married to the college professor and they are raising a teenager daughter. On the outside they appear to be the all-A...

I didn't get much sleep the night before last. My husband has this alarm issue that I won't go into, but I will just tell you that from 12:30am until 5:30am either his phone or his alarm were going off every ten minutes. I love him dearly and wouldn't want him sleeping anywhere other than right next to me ... but I would have preferred a solid five hours of sleep as opposed to eight minute increments. Last night I didn't get much sleep either - and I was really optimistic about it. I purchased a body pillow which I was confident would help me sleep better and wake up more refreshed (for those who have never slept with me, I'm a tummy sleeper - but with this baby in my belly, that doesn't work so well). The pillow made all the difference in the world and I was snoring, drooling, and dreaming in no time. Weird dreams too ... but again, that's a story for a different day. At nearly 1am I heard screaming from my little guy who is four. I jumped out of bed and ra...

Not So Long Ago, Not So Far Away by Trisha Slay Review by Crystal J. Casavant-Otto I don’t remember watching Star Wars and I was born two months after it was released in theaters, but novelist Trisha Slay made me feel as if I had been there in the theater taking in each frame of the film. Slay’s novel , Not So Long Ago, Not So FarAway was so well written that I imagined myself a troubled teenager, coming of age and being transformed during the summer months of 1977. Erika (the lead character) is the reason I loved this book, because she is every teenager girl; awkward in her own skin and unsure of herself. Not only does she struggle for acceptance, but struggles will self-doubt. Erika doesn’t see what the rest of the town sees which makes her character so real. Erika had been the chunky side-kick to her teen beauty queen best friend, Cassie. When Cassandra disappeared, all the attention moved to Erika who had been plotting Cassie’s escape. Each question made Erika qu...

We are preparing for Mother's Day - making sure the menu is complete, making cards, planning the cleaning frenzy, and arranging our schedule for Sunday. Even though I am a mother, I don't feel this day is about me. My children may tell a different tale, but as long as my mother, mother in law, and other strong women in my life are roaming this earth with me, this is a day to celebrate them. That's how I see it at least. I had to explain that to my husband because he couldn't understand why I would want to host mother's day at our house. His thought was "why do you want to do all that work on a day meant to celebrate you?" so I had to explain it to him. Needless to say, I have been blessed through the years with many strong female role-models and since some of them are still with us, it is my turn to thank them for being amazing! This is a great time to put a name and a face with each life lesson. I'll share a few of my own blessings and then provide ...

It's a gorgeous day here - the sun is shining, the birds are chirping, and it was warm enough to leave my sweater at home. It's certainly not the weather that put me in a bit of a funk this morning ... and I'm not sure if that's the best way to describe my emotions anyway ... let me explain: I've been the super busy burning the candle at both ends person. The one who feels under appreciated and over-worked as well as the one with that voice inside screaming "what about what I want? Does NOBODY care what I want?" When I was living that life, I thought I was doing a good job being mindful of others. I would talk about 'perception is everything' and I thought I was being careful of my tone, my body language, and choosing my words carefully. You get the picture. I felt like I was walking on a tightrope that was a bit frayed on one end - I knew eventually the darn thing was going to give and I was going to plummet toward the ground. I didn't think...