Monthly Archives: June 2012

That’s More Like It

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It’s been raining on and off since we arrived here in Not-So-Sunny-Florida.  We are, however, with a Nana and a Captain Ahab that we haven’t seen in a good long while;  and, so, we’ve been enjoying each other anyway.  Imagine. The Captain, however, is up to his same old tricks.  I haven’t  come up with a catchy name for the debacle that occurred this morning yet.  It could be called Watergate.  It really could.  But that’s already been taken.  Here’s the gist:

Ahab: “Let’s run the kids over to the beach to check the ocean before the day gets rolling.”

Me: (Naively) “That sounds like a great idea!”

The sun was sparkling across the water and peeking out just enough at 7:00 in the morning to give us hope for a decent day. We grabbed hold of that hope with a little more zeal than caution would warrant for the skies that were overhead. Can I just stop here a moment to tell you all, (all 8 of you), how poignant it is to watch my children walk the beach early in the morning with Captain Ahab?  That same daddy walked me and my brother when we were their age.  Oh, how the beach shell turns…

Aren’t Those Skies Talking?

Far longer than a “short beach run” later, we arrived home soaked to the bone.  You see, Captain Ahab thought it would be a mighty fine idea to walk the kids (including the littlest – Sweetgirl) all the way to the jetty.  And back. From where we started out, it was a good quarter-mile (or more) there, and then another good quarter-mile or more back.  That would have been great if we just had the two 9-year-old boys.  Alas… Halfway TO the jetty, Sweetgirl started telling us that her legs were tired of All The Walking.  Not a good sign.

Just about the time Ahab and I realized we should probably start heading back from the jetty, the skies decided to get angry.  We tried to shuffle the kids away, but dang it, there was a hot-pink mask washed ashore that was just Sweetgirl’s size, and a half-dead sea fan that begged to be brought back (despite the stench); not to mention the two turtle hatchling eggshells we found.  Oh, The Excitement!  Unfortunately, all of The Excitement made trying to hurry them along kind of like herding cats.  Only, harder.

Happily at the Jetty

All that to say, about 2 minutes into our 15 minute walk back, the skies opened up and rained on our beachy parade.  Here are a few things I heard from the lolly-gaggers before one of them needed to be picked up to keep the party moving along.

Sweetboy:  “We’ve walked 3 or 4 miles now, haven’t we Grampa?”

Sweetgirl: “My Eyes!  My Eyes are getting wet.  See, Grampa?”

Cousin:  “Can I just go ahead and jump in the ocean and go swimming?  I’m already wet!”

We did make it back. Wet, but happy to have enjoyed the adventure.  And to have made it back without getting struck by lightning. Obviously. As, I’m now sitting here in the comfort of the house telling you all about the latest adventure “abroad”.  Only, “abroad” is really just down South from up North.  Indeed.

Reindeer in July?

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As it turns out, yes and no.  Clear as mud?  Let me untangle the yes from the no.  Captain Ahab is a Fisherman.  Shocking, I know.  He is also a hunter. The house I grew up in is filled with the remnants of his glory days hunting rascally wabbits.  Or deer.  Or Antelope.  Or Marlin.  Or Wahoo.  Oh boy – this list could go on and on. Sadly…

Anywho, we landed today in the state of my formative years. And just to be clear, my hair is already fully cooperating in Operation Frizz Out.

I needed Sweetman for something or other, so I asked Sweetgirl if she’d seen her daddy lately.  Here’s what she said:

Sweetgirl: “Daddy is over there. In the reindeer room.”

And here’s what she meant:  (If you are squeamish about taxidermy of any sort, please avert your eyes.)

The Official Reindeer Room

There are no reindeer in this room.  It is, however, filled with plenty of other animals. That, to a four-year old, look very much like reindeer.  So, yes and no.

More thrilling pictures to come.  Yes, indeedy!  Hopefully, more entertaining than a Reindeer Room.

Heading For the Hills (Or As the Case May Be, The Ocean)

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I should be sleeping in preparation for our flight outta Dodge tomorrow morning; but instead, I’m here.  Here are the top 5 things that have gone down around here this week.  A few of them even caused a giggle or three.

1) Sweetgirl started packing her own carry on all by herself.  On Monday.  Unfortunately, she’s realized each day that something she packed she’s just “gotsa have now, Mama!”. We’ve spent today rounding up each and every one of those said items and corralling them back into her carry on.

2)  I do solemnly believe that Sweetdog now knows how to spell. I’m 99.9% positive that her ears perked up when she heard me mention packing her bag up for the kennel yesterday.  It may also be why she left us a “parting present” early this morning.

3) Benadryl just may have been created in Heaven, because the sleep we’ve been able to get around here, despite 4 of the 4 of us having colds,  has been divine.

4) The pending trip has an amazing behavior modification effect.  And I like it.  A lot.  Forget about the ol’ Stink Eye.  Go with “Oh My! Whatever will The Nana and Captain Ahab say when they hear/see that next week?”.  Pure gold in verbal form.

5) The thought of being with my peeps down in Florida and letting my hair go all “roller coaster” on me is just fine and dandy with me.  Or, in other news, I’m getting old enough that I just don’t give a hoot.

I’ll be posting some enthralling pictures, I’m sure.  In the meantime, what sorts of things do y’all do to prepare for big trips?

Siri-us?

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Siri has been getting quite the workout in our house lately. A workout that I’m fairly certain she isn’t enjoying all that much.

Sweetman:  “Why can’t I remember the name of the actor that played the White Shadow?”

Sweetboy: “Just ask The Siri Lady, daddy.”

Or…

Mama:  “I wonder where the closest ice cream place is?”

Sweetboy: “Siri will know, Mama.”

And just when I thought her ill-treatment was contained to our house, The Nana called.  Poor, poor Siri…

Me:  “So, Mom, how are things going with your new iPhone?”

The Nana: “I hate that Siri Lady.  Sometimes, I hit her by accident, but I don’t want to talk to her so I just say ‘Oh, shut-up Siri.  I don’t have anything to say to you!’ “

Maybe I should steer the Sweetchildren towards degrees in techno-therapy.  It’s almost a given that Siri’s gonna need it.

Indeed.

Not Fit For a Princess In Training

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We did a little of this today:

And by “this”, I mean that we left the house at 9:00 am and didn’t get back until 5:30 pm. It was a full day of salty sea air, sunshine, and sand. Except for the 3 minutes where Sweetgirl went missing on a very crowded beach and I about lost my lunch at the one minute mark of the search (she was looking for “your umbrella, mama, and I couldn’t find it.”), it was a pretty great beach day.

Now, one would think that on the drive back home these two Sweetchildren of mine, and the two friends we had with us, would be wiped out.  One would be flat-out wrong.  After a day of fun in the sun, this is the conversation that took place in the car:

Sweetgirl:  “Bum Burp Bum Burp Bum Bum Burp”  (Sung to some I-Don’t-Have-A-Clue-What-Kind-Of-Tune.  Followed by squeals of laughter from the 2 nine-year old boys as well as the other little girl in the car.)

Mama:  “Sweetgirl, those aren’t words fit for a Lady.  Especially a lady in training to be a princess.”

Sweetboy:  “But they are if she’s a lady in ‘potty training’ mama, right?”

Oh, dear.  Yes indeed child.  Most unfortunately, yes, indeed.

To Talk Or To Breathe

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“Asking you to stop talking is like asking you to stop breathing.  It just doesn’t work out that well for you.”

Sweetman. To me.  When he wanted me to button it up.  Which I rarely do.  If you can even imagine…


We’ve been talking a lot over here.  Sweetman and I always seem to slip more easily into “talk to each other” mode after dinner during the summertime.  What is it about that?  And those kidlets of mine? Sweet Moses, they can be chatty.  I have to admit, though, I secretly love it.  We don’t get to talk much all day during the school year and I just like to hear what’s percolating in those little heads of theirs.  This week, anyway.  I’ll let you know if I still feel that way come July.

It should come as no surprise to anyone then, that today, during our attempt to watch “Madagascar 3″ on the big screen, Sweetgirl talked in my ear the Whole Derned Time.  Seriously.  And I had to wonder if I was this chatty when I was her age.  Because, if I was?  I owe my parents a heck of a lot more than some nice Hillshire Farms sausage and cheese baskets.  Word of mercy.

But, and here’s the beauty in this bounty of talking that’s going on around here, I’ve noticed something.  It would seem that much like when we write without censoring for a time, important thoughts, and even coherent ones, begin to emerge.  My ears have been privy to some very interesting inner workings going on inside the heads of Sweetboy and Sweetgirl this week.  I love getting the inside scoop on the thought process behind the myriad choices my children make throughout their day; whether it be the choice of snack, playtime toy, game or book. Here’s what I’m learning:

  1. Children seem to make far better choices when you limit their choices.  Clear as mud?
  2. When given the opportunity to practice imaginary play without any direction, some very interesting conversations take place.
  3. Questions are sometimes asked more to know that mama is near than to know the answer.
  4. An atta-girl or atta-boy is sometimes all it takes to keep the good choices rolling.
  5. And, hugs still rule the day at the end of the, you know… day.

I don’t always get this parenting thing right and sometimes I don’t understand these children that I’ve been given to parent.  But, I am so stinkin’ grateful that I get the chance to try it all over again tomorrow. Especially with these kids. I don’t ever want them to stop The Talking.  Even Sweetman enjoys all the chatter.  Well… I’m fairly certain he’d admit that he’d gladly take a small break from some of mine.  As long as I continue to breathe. Indeed!

What about you?  What interesting things have you had the opportunity to observe about your kidlets now that school’s out?

Some Other Neat Things

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Making lists is an awfully wonderful thing to do.  It’s awful because you now have ideas down in black and white forcing you to potentially take action.  It’s wonderful precisely because those thoughts are down in black and white and now there is no way your scatterbrained self can forget them.  Unless you lose the paper they’re written on.  Which is why blogs rock.  If I “lose” my computer, I have far worse issues to contend with…

All of this rattling on about nothing is leading to something.

I’ve been thinking about some other neat things that we like and/or use around here.  I thought I’d share. I’m friendly like that.

  • In an effort to cancel out the delightful harmful effects of my daily devil dog consumption, Sweetman has gotten me hooked on having a cup of piping hot decaf green tea with him each night before bed.  He figures it will at least balance out some of the “harm” done.  (He has NO room to judge – he with his Suzy Q’s sitting dangerously close to my Devil Dog!)  I’ve become quite a fan of Allegro Organic Decaf Green Tea.  Thank you Sweetman for keeping me somewhat healthy!
  • Wild Olive Tees.  If you’ve never been over to their site, run!  It’s got the cutest t-shirts for women and children.  Each shirt has a graphic on the front and a Bible Verse on the back.  We bought a “mini” one for Sweetgirl last year and that poor t-shirt needs to be retired in a big way.  But Sweetgirl is gonna fight that all the way to the donation bag.  Here’s a pic of the back of hers:
  • I can’t do  curry. Seriously.  I puke.  Involuntarily. I’m sorry, TMI, I know. (Which really is a double shame, because Sweetman’s best friend is Punjabi.  I wasn’t able to be anywhere within a two-mile radius of his wedding festivities throughout most of the wedding party weekend. Poor Sweetman had to literally change his clothes before entering the hotel room each night so as not to prompt The Puking.) So, why am I mentioning that?  I hesitate to display the range of my ignorance, but here goes…  I foolishly thought that Taboule had curry in it. Therefore, I’ve never attempted to try it.  Unbeknownst to me, while at a little housewarming party last month, I tried a dip that had Taboule in it.  And it was delicious!!! So, I’ve fallen a tad bit in love with the stuff.  I think I’ve had it with some pita chips for lunch once or twelve times this month.  Cedar’s Taboule is my favorite this minute.  But if you have a brand that you love and would like to share, please do! And, that’s a wrap.  It’s a gorgeous day here, so I’m off to play.  Enjoy!

I Didn’t Want to Read It

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I already knew what it was going to say.  Unfortunately.  And I read it anyway because, apparently, I’m a glutton for punishment.  And now, I must share it with you Internets. Because, that’s how I roll.

 

It’s a writing prompt that I’m fairly 110% certain she will NEVER use again.  Thank you Sweetboy.  You have spared countless numbers of future second grade parents from having to gag while reading.

You?  Not so much.  For that, I am sorry.

Tomorrow is another day.  Lord, have mercy.  Yes indeedy.

That Kid Has Some Awfully Funny Ideas

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And by funny, I mean ridiculous. As in, “If you don’t knock it off with all of this funny business, there is going to be Big Trouble.”. I do not know what is going on around here with that Sweetboy lately, but shoo-ee!  You’d think a holy horde of hooligans have taken up residence.  But no. It’s just one quirky 9 year ol’ boy.

I give you… Exhibit A:

The defendant’s response was, and I quote, “It looked like the bar at gymnastics. I was practicing.”

 

I’d also like to present Exhibit B:

The defendant was adamant that, and I quote, “It seemed like a fun place to sit.”

 

And finally, Sweetboy has blonde hair and blue eyes. Armed with that pertinent information,  I present our final exhibit of the evening. To this, I can only ask, “What The What?”  I give you… his self-portrait from school:

 

Indeed.

I’d Like to Tell Her

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I’ve been part of an amazing group of ladies that meet one morning every week to do a Bible study, pray, and “do life” together.  These ladies have been impacting and touching my life for the past 5 years.  And we are losing one, now, in the fight against cancer.  I don’t think I fully realized how much her input has impacted our group of gals until I started to think of what will be missed when she sits in glory on the other side of Heaven.   I’d like to tell her that.  And, I would daresay, she could be called a Giant of the Faith. We’ve certainly learned some mighty and valuable lessons from her in the time we’ve had together.  Not the least of which is her consistent trust that God is good.  No matter what the circumstances of her life may be. We’ve seen her trust in Him grow, as did her cancer.  That, in and of itself, is an amazing thing to witness. I’d like to tell her that, too.

We, and all those who’s lives she’s touched, are praying for a miracle of healing.  But, in that same breath of prayer, we’re trusting that God’s plan for her is the best plan.  And while we may struggle with the why of the when of her story, we know that God’s love for her is far more sufficient to carry her through than any love we could lavish on her.  (Though it never hurts to lavish a little more love!)  I’d like to tell her that her example to us of continued trust and hope in a God that some might call “absent” during this time, is far more powerful than any lesson from a revered Bible teacher ever could be.

I’d like to tell her that I’m a little jealous of the fact that she’s going to get a new body soon.  That she’s going to get to walk with and talk to this Jesus that we adore so.  I’m excitedly anticipating what God will say to her when she kneels before him, made perfect that side of Heaven.  Indeed, I’d like to tell her all of these things, but I won’t.  Instead, I’m going to hold her up in prayer.  I’m going to try to call to mind how vivid a picture she paints of perseverance.  And I’m going to thank God for the time we have left.

 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. 2 My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4” 

John 14:1-3