Thankful Thursday 4

1. I am thankful for the option to dye my hair should....you know...I need to. At least I have options.

2. I am thankful my main form of entertainment, sports, has had its basketball season extended each and every year by our uber-talented Kansas Jayhawks. We probably take for granted that we'll always watch through late March, but it butts up nicely against the baseball season when it does.

3. I am thankful we have enough breakfast choices that my Owen cries most mornings because he "can't decide". I hope I continue to teach him how lucky he is to have such "difficult" problems.

Tuesday Owenisms 4

Evelyn was having a self-indulgent moment when we were out and about one weekend. Owen had enough of her selfish requests, apparently, and said to her,

"The WORLD's not about YOU Sissy. It's about..................God..................and other people."


I took Owen and Sissy window shopping one day. Well, it was mostly window shopping. While I dragged them into a women's clothing store, they were well behaved. I was even able to try on a suit. Once I decided I wasn't getting it, I went to hang it back up where I first found it. Owen was perplexed and said, 

"So.........you put that on your bum.........and then hang it up so others can put it on their bum?"

When I responded yes, we like to try it on first to see if it fits well, he responded with,

"Gross."


*To be clear, I did try the suit on with my underclothes still on. It wasn't naked suit fitting day.

Monday Mumbles 4

1. Another six inches or so of snow this weekend. Over. It.

2. As I settled in to watch basketball Sunday afternoon, Evelyn was literally crying because she wanted to go shopping. This was my biggest fear with having a daughter. By far.

3. The kids and I trekked up to Iowa with my mom to visit my little brother and his fiance. I took a two hour nap Saturday afternoon and it was the greatest thing ever. I don't recall the last time I indulged in a nap.

4. Owen and Evie shared a room for bedtime Saturday night and after I sang "Hush Little Baby" to Evelyn (I have to do it every night), Owen refused my invitation to sing it to him. He stated, "Hush Lil Baby" is a sad song. I don't like it." And as I studied the words.....I tend to agree with him.

5. Did I mention my Jayhawks won? And that we made it to the NCAA Sweet 16? Just checking.

6. Has anyone watched the Game of Thrones series? I'm on book #4 and am curious how it was portrayed.

7. My brother and fiance want Owen and Evelyn to be part of the wedding ceremony. I am fearful they will not cooperate. In fact, it's more than fear. It's dread.

8. I just realized that I'm 4.5 years away from the age of 40. Oh. My. Gosh. My life is nearly half over, theoretically.

9. On the other hand, Hubs is completely unaware of the reality that IS HIM at this age. He keeps talking about things he could physically as if....AS IF....they're still possible with a little effort. More like a Herculean effort. Or a Godly Miracle.

10. We've decided to put in laminate flooring in the kitchen and living room. Now we just have to come to a decision on what the heck we want. This will take serious compromising skills neither of us have probably achieved.

Tuesday Owenisms 3

Owen has always been a Daddy's boy. It hurts my feelings sometimes, but I get it. He was home with his a majority of his first year while Hubs finished his degree. And he's spent a lot of extra time with Hubs this past year while I was deeply involved in a project at work.

Truth be told, he would be a Daddy's boy regardless of those two facts, but they are what keep me sane and from thinking that he just doesn't like me. There are a lot of Owenisms that make me wonder, however, if that just MIGHT be the case.

It's gotten worse lately at bedtime. He started requesting that his Daddy take him to bed, removing my one stronghold on parental duties. I was SAD. My feelings were deeply hurt. The first night it happened, I simply walked to his door after Hubs did the duty, and said rather grumpily,

"Good night Owen."

Owen said, "Hey Mom?"

"Yes?"  (still grumpy, mind you)

"I don't HATE you."

He really knows a way to a girl's heart. The only thing that keeps me hanging on is I don't think I'll be able to marry him off any time soon. I simply responded, "I don't hate you either."

Monday Mumbles 3

1. There are certain days when I completely agree with Hubs that I've lost my mind and am crazy.

2. I also believe there are certain actions or topics that, when pressed on you over and over again without any give or bend, can help LEAD you to crazyland.

3. I wanted Sunday to be Movie Day for me and the three little ones, but because my children aren't immobile lumps like I wan them to be on Sundays once in awhile, we could only muster Movie Afternoon.

4. Turner made it through Madagascar (one) and Home Alone (two). Owen and Sis only made half of Madagascar before retiring for naps, after which they came out and selected Diego.

5. Yes, the children opted for movies we already owned although I offered to rent them new ones. They might make very good investigators, watching what appears to be the same scene over and over and over again, uncovering new bits and pieces each time.

6. I mentioned I was running out of meal ideas for the kids, especially with weirdo eating Owen. Well, when I asked them for suggestions yesterday evening, I was told "peas....carrots...and rice." This is what I'm working with folks. And don't be fooled, they won't touch the carrots.

7. Do you have those moments in life where you feel you're always the one teaching or instructing or giving advice? Well right now, I feel I've been the student for an extended amount of time. And I'm never going to graduate.

8. Anything below 50 degrees can really take a hike right now.

9. I wore a couple of dresses to work recently and Owen and Evelyn thought the pantyhose underneath were the strangest thing they'd ever seen. The first time, Evelyn wouldn't touch them or hug me. The second time, Owen says, "oh....and now one of her legs is black again....".

10. It's 4:40 and I'm headed to boot camp. I really, really don't want to go. I just want to go back to bed.

Funny Face Friday 3

Thankful Thursday 3

Patience

I am thankful my patience has grown over the last several years. While it waffles and teeters back into unacceptable levels, maturation must be a real thing because I think I've experienced a smidgen of it.

Sports

I have always appreciated sports and been able to draw correlations to their significant lessons in life. The busier I've gotten at work, the more I appreciate the sheer relaxing nature of watching competition and rooting as a fan. Especially when I learn that colleagues have become "too busy" to have hobbies.

Distractions

At times, it can be discouraging. They can impede progress. Being distracted when you don't want to be can create frustration. But when you embrace the distraction, especially when it's your 8 year old boy who doesn't always engage you to chat JUST TO chat? It can be the best thing in the whole wide world.

Get Write Wednesday 3

Having a teenager in the home is everything it's cracked up to be, and I fear I've exhausted every method I can conjure to help him see the light. What I realized just very, very recently is that I should apply a bit of my own "methodology" and advice.

My biggest fall-back lecture is almost always, "What would happen if I displayed that exact same action at my office?" His answer is almost always, "I'd get fired."

So why, then, am I exhibiting a behavior I wouldn't encourage him to repeat? Why am I doubting my ability to perform a certain task and causing myself to fail because I won't try, just like he does? To be dramatic, why am I potentially setting myself up for a firing?

We are being tasked to step outside our comfort zone at work and expand our skill set. That sounds easy enough, yes? Except this particular skill set assignment is something I have always said, "That's not me. I don't know how to do that. I don't possess X, Y, and Z to really OWN this skill."

I am determined to stop talking and start listening. To myself. DOING something is simply focusing on learning the behaviors that will ACCOMPLISH the doing. Doing something is nothing more than breaking it down into learned bits, piecing it together into a cohesive unit, and putting it into action. Right? Right.

I can do this.

It will feel uncomfortable. It will feel unnatural. It will make me flushed and sweaty and I will be forced to speak slower than my usual 100 mph. And that's okay.

I preach to the kids "Learning never stops!!! Embrace it! Look for something new to learn each and every day!" Today, I stop preaching and start listening.

Tuesday Owenisms 2

Setting the scene: The kids, Hubs, and I are at my mom's house. Hubs is busy riling me up or bickering with me. We're bantering.

"Is he being a dick, Mom?"

I could only think to respond "Yes" so instead I stayed silent. I looked from Owen to Hubs, to my Mom, back to Owen. Hubs asked what I was going to do to handle it. My Mom looked at me with wide eyes. I simply said, "Honey, dick is actually considered sort of a bad word....too. Please don't use it." Of course Hubs was being a dick. And apparently it wasn't the first time.

Monday Mumbles 2

1.  Anyone else have people scolding you for not appreciating the snow? They drive me nuts, the newly born agricultural enthusiasts - "But we need the moisture! Think of the farmers." Well, thank you. I wasn't aware the snow had BENEFITS that should suddenly make me a lover of the powdery white. SHUT UP. I can detest the snow, the cold it brings, the mess that follows, and the treacherous driving conditions while still appreciating THE MOISTURE, thank you very much.

2.  I finally made it 4 miles Saturday and it wasn't terrible.

3.  I have two races coming up again this April. My girlfriends and I are doing the Oklahoma City Marathon relay again. I opted for a 6.2 mile leg instead of the 7.4 miles. You may say what's another mile point two. WELL, let me tell you.....

4.  Life or death. I promise. That's how I felt last year, anyhow, and I don't want to tempt fate again.

5.  The second race is the Brew to Brew held locally. It's a relay race as well, running over 45ish miles from the Boulevard Brewery in Kansas City to the Free State Brewery in Lawrence. This is a team building exercise of sorts for my work department.

6.  I am running out of food ideas for my kids. As in, they won't be eating if they put up another fight about what I'm dishing out.

7.  Did you know our family is represented in the Yo Gabba Gabba series? I am apparently Foofa. If you don't know these characters, go here.

8.  I say to Owen yesterday, "If you don't keep your mouth shut and stop talking...." and before I could finish my sentence, Evelyn did it for me. She said, "She'll whoop your butt!!"

9.  Funny thing...it's great they understand consequences, but when she said that same thing in relation to how Daddy would react to something I did....and said it in a fitting room....during a busy shopping Saturday....people might be wondering what types of antics we have going on here.

10.  The kids saw me making my blog picture headers and made one especially for me. I love them.

Funny Face Friday 2

Thankful Thursday 2

I am thankful for my job.

I am thankful for people who listen.

I am thankful for yogurt when my belly doesn't feel the best.

Get Write Wednesday 2

When I tried thinking of a topic that would spark my interest this week, I could only think of my friend Michelle, and her post this past weekend. It is a piece of writing that evoked the oddest combination of feelings in me - sadness and joy at the same time, as well as overwhelming sorrow and yet peace in nearly the same sentence. I urge you to go read it, but do so with the following in mind -

*  You might need some privacy and personal space. Tears are possible.

*  If you have some unexplained need to judge those who welcome an abundance of joy and gifts in the form of children into their lives, steer clear.

*  If someone else's ability to feel loss when it appears they already have so much IRKS you, steer clear. 

That is all. Enjoy her writing, and if you have enough time and energy, read the post she wrote AFTER this piece. If ever I felt part of a story simply by the written description of it, it is this moment. I hope her writing is as beautifully cathartic for her as it is moving for us.

Tuesday Owenisms 1

Owen says a lot of things. Mostly inappropriate things. I've taken to calling them Owen-isms, hence Tuesday post titles. I'll only post a few at a time or else I'll run out. He's good, but not that good.



1. "Mom, don't say bad words. Else I might."
(This was enlightening information for the next Owenism.)

2. (Playing a "learning" board game where the players are asked to come up with words that start with certain letters.)

Mom: "Owen, what letter did you land on?"
Owen: "F."
Mom: "Can you think of a word that makes the Fffff sound at the beginning?"

Very Long Pause.

Owen: "I can only think of one word and I can't get it out of my mind. But I can't say it."

Monday Mumbles 1

Ten random things I need to mumble about this fine Monday morning. Go.

1. Sissy has been hiccuping since Friday. They've haven't been all day bouts, but she's had a couple to several bouts each day. I'm hoping it's just "a thing" and nothing persistent. I gave her a cup of cold water and they went away and never returned Sunday. Fingers crossed.

2. Hubs sucked me into watching a show on A&E called Duck Dynasty. Have you seen it? Oh my. I might be more disturbed that I actually LIKE it a little.

3. Last Thursday the school had Kindergarten round-up. The soon-to-be school kids didn't HAVE to be in attendance, this was the paperwork portion of the process, but I thought we needed to ease Owen into the idea of school. I was right. He wasn't a willing travel companion, and once in the lot of the school broke down in tears because he was scared to go in.

4. Sissy, on the other hand, chanted "Let's go to school!" the entire way there.

5. Turner asked to stay the night with his grandpa Saturday night. When I asked what he'd do without his siblings, he responded, "We'll watch sports and television. You know, I'm kind of getting into NASCAR." It was like a dagger to my heart.

6. I'm currently reading the Games of Thrones series upon recommendation of loving Pillars of the Earth. I am enjoying it well enough, but I still haven't totally accepted the sci-fi aspect.

7. I will never admit out loud to Hubs that we shouldn't have bought the off-white furniture when we moved in here (knowing we had Turner on the way), but we shouldn't have bought off-white furniture. He doesn't make a habit of reading my blog posts, ever, so I think I'm safe. Don't you think of squealing on me, either.

8. For those of you out of the loop, I still love my job. I have never, ever loved a job before, but I do now. It's exciting and different and challenging. Kind of like being a mom.

9. To have that kind of day from beginning to end makes putting up with the likes of Hubs much easier. Yeah, I said it. He's my most difficult obstacle each and every day, as I am CERTAIN I'm his.

10. Turner has been learning Latin in his STRETCH program, along with brain lobes and functions and Greek mythology. I'm fairly certain I covered those topics in school too......in high school. My how times change.

Funny Face Friday 1

These will never go away, so long as my children remain who they are and I have a camera handy.

My uncle's magic glasses getting good use.

Sissy's hair always makes for a good funny face photo.

In her defense, it was part of a game called Quelf.

My sister in my grandmother's party mask.

My big TO who now eats burgers as big as his face.