Category Archives: Uncategorized

May13

Acknowledging the Mundane

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I had this big long post written about Mother’s Day yesterday. Long paragraphs that I didn’t know how to wrap up, where to end. Mother’s Day has always been such a mixed bag for me- on one hand you have the Mother’s Day where I turned into a sobbing mess in the mall because we just had our 2nd miscarriage and I never, ever knew if I was going to be a mom.  Then you have the Mother’s Day 2 year later where Scorch was born.  Yes, on Mother’s Day. The irony wasn’t lost on me.  That Mother’s Day was simply the most amazing day ever- and it’s hard for any Mother’s Day after that to live up to that day.

I think we, as mothers, put this huge expectation on the day.  That we’ll sleep in, get breakfast in bed, that our kids will get along all day long and not a thing will ever go wrong as we spend a whole day focused on us.  But let’s face it, the reality never lives up. Babies need to be nursed, butts need to be wiped, food needs to get made, balls need to be caught, fights need to be broken up and nothing ever goes nearly as well as you hoped.

But you know that? That’s OK. That’s life- that is exactly the life I literally cried for in the food court that Mother’s Day 9 years go, warts and all.  Yup, the burgers were too well done and I did have to pull the Mother’s Day card on my kids yesterday as they fought in the car on the way to church (exact quote: “It is MOTHER’S DAY and you two will knock this off and not ruin the day for me, so help me God.” awesome.) and I wouldn’t have it any other way.  My family did a wonderful job making me feel special and even when things slid back towards the mundane- it was *my* mundane and I wouldn’t give it up for anything in the world.

 

 

 

 

Feb26

The Mouth That Never Shut

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Oh my, oh my- my 6 year old is killing me lately. Scorch has always been a talker, but lately the wit / back talk is at an all time high. The worst part is, it’s equal parts infuriating and funny.

For example, Scorch gets in a lot of trouble for using potty words (literal potty words- pee, poop, fart, etc). It’s a huge pet peeve of mine and something we must address at least a dozen times a day. Finally out of frustration earlier this week, after Scorch had already lost some major privileges, I finally just said “I have no idea how to get through to you any more, Buddy.”

Without missing a beat, Scorch deadpans “Talk slower next time.”

I didn’t know whether to slap his smart little mouth or laugh until I cried.

On the drive home from FL this weekend Scorch was using potty words (again). After being reminded numerous time to knock it off, the Hubs finally said to him, “Stop with the language now or I’ll give you something to cry about”***  Again, without taking a breath, Scorch came back with “a rotten apple with a worm in it?”

Wha? How? Seriously, how do you deal with that? So now on top of teaching him to watch his language, we’re also working very hard on teaching him when to use his humor to defuse a situation and when to stay quiet. It may be a losing battle.

***Here’s hoping that all of you know that wasn’t a threat of violence- it was a threat to take away the iPad- a horrible fate on a 20+ hour road trip. We’ve never, ever hit our kids- even when they deserved it. 😉

Jan16

15 Years

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I’m terrible with dates. Birthday, anniversaries, appointments- I’m awful at remembering them. It usually takes me a good couple of seconds to remember my kids birth dates for goodness sake! But for some reason Jan 16th, the date of  my first date with the Hubs, stays stuck in my head.  It’s not like we celebrate this anniversary- I make a remark about it, the Hubs rolls his eyes, we kiss and the kid’s groan. No presents or cards- just a passing comment and we’re done.

I think this one is boggling my mind the most because I was 19 when we met- which means we’re fast approaching the point where I’ll have known the Hubs as long as I didn’t know him. And frankly, that astounds me.  And makes me feel old. And lucky. I knew I liked the Hubs on that first date, but I could have never have imagined the crazy, awesome life we would build together!

Oct22
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This week is just nuts. Between work (hello 12 hour days!) the kids (gymnastics, birthday parties, swimming, oh my!) and the normal wife/house keeper/chef/TV & book junkie parts of living, don’t expect to see me until next week.

To make up for that, I’m going to gift to you Time Magazine’s Top 25 Blogs of 2012. Some I’ve heard of, but most I haven’t.  So I hope you find good reading- I’ll be back after things slow down or when the kids come up with something too funny not too share. 🙂

Crazy Life, Crazy Me, Neglected Blog

May6

Furry Visitors

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I often joke about living out in the sticks.  And while it’s true that seeing a tractor of some sort chug up our hill is a common sight and our next door neighbors have raised a cow on their 2 acres of land, we really don’t live that far out in the country. If you head one way down our road, you’ll hit a grocery store and Wal-Mart within 2 miles- how rural can that really be?!

Judging by the visitor sunning himself in our backyard this morning, we’re rural enough!

Why hello, Mr. Coyote!

We’ve lived here for almost a decade and we’ve heard the coyotes plenty of times, but I’ve never seen one up close.  We visited with a few of our neighbors today and it turns out, this guy has been making the rounds and we seem to be one of the last on our street to be honored with a visit.

See you- no need to hurry back!

While I don’t mind the occasional visits, I’m very, very thankful our cats stay in doors and our dog is too chicken to pick a fight.

Apr5

Shrinkage

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My kids are not adjusting to our crazy weather very well. Last month we had almost 2 weeks of warm weather- it even hit the 80’s for a few days.  We all but lived outside- dinners normally eaten at 6 weren’t served until 7, bedtimes at 7 were pushed back until 8.  We were out of sorts and tired, but we sucked up every minute of the sunshine and warmth on the swings or at the baseball diamond.

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Sadly, the weather has turned much more seasonable- in the 40s and 50s. The sunshine has stayed around though so my kids are convinced we need to continue our streak of outside time. The problem with that is that 1) it’s freaking freezing out and 2) I’m a wuss. But, going outside means my kids get tired out  much more quickly so I suck it up.  We usually log at least a good hour outside every afternoon- running around, riding bikes, playing in the creek.  Since we living in the country the kids have a lot of privacy to run around like crazy people.

Which is why I had to have the fun discussion with Scorch about the effects of cold weather on certain parts of the male anatomy when he was too lazy to go inside to use the bathroom. That was a conversion I never really expected to have. Ever.

Mar13

Aren’t You Glad I Asked?

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Earlier today I found Scorch standing up in the living room with his hand hovering about a half an inch over his rear end. He looked very serious and I couldn’t figure out what he was up to- so I asked.

“I have to toot- so I’m trying to see how far I can push my pants out when I do.”

So glad I asked.

Nov21

Simplification

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The Hubs and I aren’t big on New Years resolutions, but we both agreed that 2011 was going to be our year of simplification. Back in January, the Hubs and I were both working 40+ hour a week jobs and balancing 2 small businesses on top of trying to be hands on, involved parents.  The Hubs job at the time was  crazy one where his life was frequently not his own.  When you’re 22 and don’t have any kids,  being given 18 hours notice before having to leave on a 3 week business trip was annoying. Trying to do the same thing at 34 with 2 kids and 2 businesses to run was next to impossible.  Our primary small business was a labor of love, but as the kids got older the sacrifices being made didn’t seem worth it.

So over the course of this summer and early fall we started making the changes needed to streamline our lives to ensure that our family was our primary focus.

Best. Decision. Ever.

The Hubs is now home every night for dinner. He no longer has to work a second job that is an hour away 3 nights a week and all day Saturday. We have true family time.  Before, we’d try to squeeze in a full weekend worth of activities and task in on a Sunday after Church.  It wasn’t restful or fun and more often then not we ended up more stressed then ever.  Now we have time for family hikes, time at the park, lazy Sunday’s watching football and so much more.

The decisions we made to get us here weren’t easy, but I’m so thankful we made them. I’m thankful to have my husband around every night after 5 years of pure craziness. I’m thankful our kids aren’t surprised any more when Daddy is home for dinner.  Can’t wait to see what 2012 brings!