Not Me Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama.

I did not check my email obsessively for over an hour, hoping that Wesley's coach would cancel the last soccer practice due to the threat of storms.

I did not talk myself out of buying a new dress and expensive new makeup for a wedding I attended, leaving me to "shop" in my closet and trade expensive makeup for the stuff at Target.

I know I didn't get extremely  annoyed with myself when I planned a dinner that no one except me ended up liking. And the epic meal fail did not happen on the night I plan the menus for the following week.

When Ryan yelled "Mommies are the worst! They really are!" at me one morning after I wouldn't let him have soda with breakfast, I did not console myself by thinking, "Maybe so, but one of us will be at Disney in 15 days and it isn't you!" That would have been somewhat immature.

Reason to Travel

On the way to school the other day Ryan said he'd really like to "go to another state - or China."

"Well, you aren't going to another state this year, but maybe next year we'll go to South Carolina," I answered. Then I asked, "Why China?"

I figured Ryan would say something about reading about China in a book, or learning about China at school, or even that Aunt Cathy speaks Chinese. I never expected his answer.

"'Cause that's where they make all the toys!" he said cheerfully.

"Um...why do you say that?" I asked.

"Well, when people bring stuff in for share and we get to ask questions, most of the time someone asks where the share thing was made. Most of the toys are made in China, so I want to go there!"

I know he's envisioning some gigantic Santa style workshop full of toys, not the factories that actually produce them. But, he does kind of have a point.

Artstravaganza!

The boys had a music and art program at their school tonight. It went so much better than programs at the school have gone in the past. Instead of cramming everyone in gym and forcing people to stay in their seats while all the classes performed, tonight's program was outside and folks were encouraged to come and go as they needed and wanted.

Both Wesley and Ryan did a fantastic job with their class songs - most the the numbers even had some choreography! I was very proud.

They each had artwork displayed in the gym as well.

Wesley's rocket

Ryan's self portrait. Apparently he is very serious at school.

It was such a nice evening at the school. I hope this is one event they continue to do annually.

I Need a Double

No, not a double scotch on the rocks. Not a body double - although swimsuit season is fast upon us, so that might not be a bad idea. Not even a double cheeseburger. No, what I need is true double. A way to be in two places at once and be effective and present at both those places.

One of my friends blogged about the hectic pace of May and that it has somehow become the new December. There is constantly something going on or ending in a big way. I am getting better at saying "no," and accepting that I can't do everything, but it's so much harder when the kids are involved.

Ryan's first field trip was yesterday. It was just a trip to the zoo and we just went to the zoo last weekend, so I didn't feel too bad not chaperoning. Well, I didn't feel too bad until I dropped Ryan off at school that morning and he said, "You'll meet us at the zoo, right Mom?"

Um....no. I explained to Ryan that I had to work and he seemed alright with that, but the damage to my fragile mommy psyche was done. Never mind that I've been saving vacation time to take several weeks off this summer when the kids are out of school, I started wondering if I should have taken the day off and helped out. Never mind that there were other parents helping, I started to feel bad that I wasn't. Logically, I knew that Ryan wouldn't give the fact that I wasn't chaperoning a second thought, the "bad mommy" part of my brain kept whispering that I was ruining his field trip.

Of course, everything went swimmingly at the zoo. Ryan had a great time plus,  one of my dear friends was the chaperone for his group and sent me pictures throughout the morning.

Today was field day at the school. It's another event that the PTA sponsors and several notes and emails went home asking for parents to volunteer to help out. Again, I declined to volunteer because it was a work day. I have never volunteered for field day, so I figured I was safe on skipping this one.  Wrong again! This time it was Wesley who piped up as he was getting out of the car, "You're coming back for field day, right?" 

Again, no.

Tomorrow night is the "artstravaganza" at the boys' school. I will be at that because it's in the evening, but Wesley has to be there before 6:00 and I don't get off work until 5:30, so it will be a bit of a rush. I won't have time to eat anything, which means I'll be hangry and trying to keep myself under control during the event. The only saving grace is that the performances are outside (read:  you don't sit through everyone's performance) and the Kindergarten and second grade both perform early.

Friday is Wesley's field trip. Guess who isn't a chaperone for that one either?

Less you think I'm a complete slacker, I did take the last day of school off, although truth be told, it wasn't my intent. My intent was to take the morning off for Kindergarten graduation, then go into work after lunch. Of course, that was before learning that Wesley's class would be doing an awards ceremony and Popsicle party starting at 1:30. There is no way I could go to one child's event and not the other. And then school is out at 3:00, so really, what's the point of going back to work.

It just frustrates me sometimes how often parents are expected to be at school during the day. My job is very flexible and I can usually make stuff work, but not without feeling guilty about missing work, or missing the school event, or being at one and feeling like I should be at the other. What do parents who have more structured jobs do?

And this is just the school stuff. Before the end of the month we also have an out of town wedding that Duane and I are invited to that falls at the same time as Wesley's final soccer game and team picnic, which is the same time Wesley is supposed to put flags up on the veterans graves with the scouts for Memorial Day. We have a graduation party the evening we return. Ryan and I are going to walk in the Memorial Day parade with the library so Duane and Wesley can walk in the same parade with the scouts. I need to write a review for a book I haven't finished. We have two more graduation parties to attend next weekend - both out of town (and nowhere near each other) at overlapping times. 

I'm ready for it to be June.

Not Me Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama.

I did not tell my children "no" when they asked to go to the park on a perfectly lovely evening just because I wanted one stinking night all week where we didn't have to leave the house.

I did not briefly consider not making my kids finish their "blizzard bags" of make up work and allowing them to take the unexcused absences instead.

I was not incredibly relieved that I was not the parent in the car with Wesley when the tornado sirens were going off since he's possibly the only person more freaked out by storms/tornadoes than I am. 

There is no way that Duane and I started singing "Row Row Row Your Boat" (in a round even) when Wesley asked if we could please listen to "some music - any music" in the car. 

Weekend Wrap Up

While today hasn't been overly busy, I'm pretty sure that we crammed an entire weekend's worth of activities into yesterday alone.

We started out with two overlapping soccer games in the morning. Overlapping games are usually pretty nice, but it was kind of bittersweet that Duane and I and to "divide and conquer" yesterday because it was Ryan's last game, and, while Wesley has a make up game next weekend, Duane and I will be at a wedding and will have to miss it.

I went to Ryan's game, while Duane walked over to Wesley's field. The grand plan was for Ryan and I to walk over to Wesley's game afterwards because the older kids would still be playing.  Ryan played his little heart out yesterday and even scored his first ever soccer goal! I was so super proud of him. I think he wanted to score another, but the weather took a sudden turn for the worse. The clouds above opened up and it began to rain and hail. So the game was called in the last quarter and a cold and wet Ryan and Mommy lugged our stuff to the truck, then drove to the other field to pick up a cold and wet Daddy and Wesley.  Good times. But we did go get Mya's Fried Chicken as a celebration lunch.

After lunch Duane and I did the split parenting thing again. He and Wesley headed off to scout camp (they opted not to actually camp out over night since the camp site was bound to be a cold mud pit) and Ryan and I headed out for our church group social and our Mommy/Ryan date night.

Yes, the "Y" fell off Wesley's ribbon, but don't worry, it will get fixed

Becoming a Bear Scout

Brand new Bears!

While Wesley was moving on up in the scouting world, Ryan and I headed to the Olentangy Indian Caverns with our church group. I have lived in central Ohio for 40 years and I have never been to the caverns. It was really neat and definitely worth a trip back with the whole family some day.

Ryan really wanted to to mine for gems and fossils, but we skipped it this time. The next time we go, we'll definitely do that!

Kei checking out the mining operation

Kei and Sho

My date for the afternoon since Duane was at scout camp

In the caverns

Some of the church kids

The rock of many name - because when you hit your head on it (it's low hanging) you call it many names.

Creepy cavern picture of me and my little guy

After spending time at the caverns, Ryan and I headed out for our "date." We ate at his favorite place  - McDonalds, while Wesley chowed down on campfire food.

Really, he did eat. This was just the "before" picture

Ryan and I may have missed out on s'mores and hot dogs cooked over a campfire, but we got to the pet store after dinner and before our movie.  While we were there I decided that Ryan is a true cat whisperer. Those felines LOVE him!

Then we saw a movie and went home to bed. We were both asleep by the time our campers got home.

Today we got up and went to church/Sunday School, then headed up to Delaware to have lunch with my dad and a bunch of his cousins. It was nice to see everyone, but Ryan started feeling poorly on our way there and by the time we got to the restaurant, he was running a fever and just wanted to be on my lap. He barely ate a bite and only took a sip or two of his root beer, so we know he didn't feel well.  He slept the whole way home too.

Luckily a nap and a dose of medicine seems to be all Ryan needed. He's back up and about, playing with his brother. Good thing too - he's got a field trip and a school program this week.

Hope you all had a fun weekend!

Not Exactly a Helping Hand

As a parent and former daycare worker, I have gotten pretty good about not getting grossed out about too many things. I have seen my share of nasty diapers, snot and assorted other bodily fluids. Wesley's frequent nosebleeds have gotten me used to the sight of blood (um...thanks?) so I like to think I have a pretty good handle on things that make you go "ewwww."  But last night I got a whole new shutter factor - the one that comes when your child is hurt, but you don't know how badly.

The boys went over to Grandma and Grandpa H.'s house after school yesterday. When I got home from work, I took over making dinner so Duane could go pick them up, along with a tent he was going to borrow.  I was standing in the kitchen, happily cooking when I suddenly heard a very high pitched scream. I could immediately tell it was the scream of a child who had gotten hurt, but Duane wasn't home with the boys yet, so I assumed it was the three year old next door and that she had fallen or something.

Wrong!

A few moments later Duane entered the house carrying a sobbing and gasping Ryan.

"What happened?"  I asked.

"I accidentally shut his fingers in the door," Duane replied.

I froze. All I could picture was Ryan's bleeding, mangled hand. My mind started racing, wondering which hospital we should go to - the closest one, or Children's which is farther away. I knew I needed to check out the damage but I couldn't move. I did not want to see Ryan's hand. The very thought of it made my stomach roll and my head spin. But what kind of mom would I be if I denied comfort to my child who was hurt? I knew I was going to have to look and deal with whatever I saw.

I took a deep breath. "Okay, let's get some ice on it."

I wrapped some ice in a towel and walked over to where Ryan was crying on the couch. I'm pretty sure I had my eyes closed and didn't open them until Ryan placed his injured hand in my lap.

Imagine my relief when I saw that his hand was scraped and bruised, but not bleeding and certainly not crushed. Everything snapped back into focus and I was able to go into full mommy mode, cuddling my baby, stroking his hair and whispering that it would all be okay.  Duane put a couple of bandages on Ryan's two fingers that were scraped and Ryan slowly started to calm down. And just so you know, I don't think anyone felt worse about what happened with Ryan's hand than Duane did. He was just beside himself.

"I don't think I can go to gymnastics tonight," Ryan told us. "I don't think I can do the rings."

We told him that we had plenty of time before gymnastics, but if his fingers still hurt then, he wouldn't have to do class.

Ryan took a couple of bites of his dinner, looked down at his plate and said, "I don't really feel like eating."

"That's okay," I told him, then turned to Duane. "If he had eaten, I was going to make him a grilled cinnamon toast chocolate bar sandwich for dessert."

Ryan overheard and immediately picked his fork back up and ate some more.  By the time he had eaten his special dessert sandwich, the hand was forgotten.

Gymnastics went very well. Ryan was able to do everything his coach asked and even impressed the heck out of myself and Duane on the rings.  Since it was the last class of the session, I asked the boys on the way home if they wanted to sign up again.  They both said they did.

"That's fine with me," I said, "But Wesley, if you are going to sign up again, you are going to have to work on not being so scared. I know you were afraid when coach had you on the rings and was holding your feet, but you need to listen to him and do what he says. Coach had a hold of you and he's not going to let you fall or let anything happen to you. Your coach is even stronger than Daddy, and Daddy wouldn't let anything hurt you, would he?"

Wesley answered "no" just as Ryan said, "Well, Daddy shut my fingers in the door." 

So much for forgive and forget, right? "That was an ACCIDENT, Ryan," Duane and I both said. I think Ryan totally forgave his daddy though because Duane was curled up on Ryan's bed with him as Ryan was falling asleep last night. Still Daddy's little man.

The Sirens Call

Last evening was the first time this season that the tornado sirens in out area have gone off. It happened just after dinner, about the time Wesley and Duane were about three quartes of the way to soccer practice.

Now I am kind of afraid of thunderstorms and tornadoes. I used to be VERY afraid of storms and those awful sirens, but working with kids and having kids of my own had forced me to face that fear and put on a brave face. You know that saying about "fake it till you make it?" Turns out it's pretty true. The more I have to fake not being bothered by the weather, the less bothered by it I actually am.

Ryan and I were still at home when the sirens starts going off, so I snagged my iPad, my phone and my youngest and we headed into the basement. Can I just say once again how much I love having a basement? Once we got settled in and Ryan started playing on my phone, I checked the radar on my iPad to see exactly where the threat was. As I had suspected, the threat was clear on the other side of the county and headed away from us, but I made Ryan stay in the basement with me - more to learn to pay attention to safety measures than anything else.

Cleo joined us in the basement. I think she just wondered why we were hanging out down there. 

"Look, Mom," Ryan said. "Cleo knows about tornado drills too."

"Ryan, you do know this isn't a drill, right? When the sirens go off and it's not nice out we have to take them very seriously. Someone has seen a tornado in our county."

"Oh yeah, I know," he replied, not even looking up from his game.

We waited out the warning until the official all clear came. Duane and Wesley got just home just before the all clear and Wesley hurried to join us downstairs.

As we came back upstairs I asked Duane if Wesley managed to keep it together when the sirens went off. The poor kid is really freaked out by them.

"He was pretty upset until I started joking with him," Duane said.  

Apparently Duane had heard the location on the radio and, since it wasn't near us, went into joke mode to calm Wesley down. Duane spent the ride home saying things like "That tornado is so far away we should call Florida and ask Mickey if he can see it out the window."

Hey, whatever works. I'm just glad that it really wasn't near us. Faking it only takes you so far.

Mother's Day Recap

Unless you live under a rock, or outside of the United States, you probably know that Mother's Day was last Sunday.  I haven't posted about Mother's Day this year for a couple of reasons. One is that I don't really like the holiday. I know, I know. That makes me a horrible person. But I am very close with my mom, and my step-mom and I get along great. I don't feel like I need a special day to tell them  how wonderful they are.

The other reason is a bit more cynical. I always feel this great pressure to be a perfect mom on Mother's Day and to have the most special day just basking in the love of my kids. And let's be honest, that isn't going to happen. My kids are going to fight, I'm going to yell and will spend part of the day feeling like a failure.  I don't want to go out to brunch and I don't want a corsage, and good heavens, I do not want my kids to spill breakfast in bed. To be honest, most years what I want for Mother's Day is to be left alone with a stack of books and a glass of wine.

As you can probably tell, I went into this Mother's Day with a bit of a bad attitude. I can admit that.  I burst into tears (not the good kind) when I saw how Ryan misspelled my name on the card he made me.

The calm, logical, good mom part of me knew that he was sounding out my name "Hea-fer" (he has trouble with "th" sometimes) and knew it was kind of cute - especially when you consider all the misspellings on the inside of the card too (no image of that). The grouchy, insecure, bad mom part of me could only see that my five year old referred to me as a cow and immediately wanted to start a diet.

Mother's Day morning we woke up even earlier than we do on school days because the boys had to be at church at 8:00 for the choir to warm up. Yes, 8:00 AM. On Mother's Day. I was thrilled. The children's choir was scheduled to sing at two church services (yes, on Mother's Day) and, since it was the last Sunday they'd be singing for the school year, the choir director planned a little party for them after the second service (yes, on Mother's Day.)

"Fine. I can work with this," I thought. We packed up a picnic to take to the zoo after the choir party. I figured if the party started at 11:30 and the kids got certificates and ate a cookie or a piece of cake, we would probably be done by noon and then I could spend at least the afternoon of Mother's Day doing something I like to do.  It was a nice theory. Right up to the point when the choir director announced that - surprise! - she had ordered pizza for all the kids for lunch and wanted to show the Christmas Musical for them. A pizza party for the kids. On Mother's Day. Shoot me now.

But I managed to keep it together. The kids worked hard all year with the choir and, even though I was put out, I didn't want the kids to think I wasn't proud of all their hard work. So we ate pizza instead of the picnic we had packed. We watched the Christmas musical and I faked a smile as much as I could.

Wesley getting his choir certificate

Ryan giving the director, who is moving on to a new church, a big hug

Afterwards we did make it out to the zoo and had a pretty good time. We ate ice cream as dessert and had popcorn as a snack. We saw some baby animals and we didn't stay one moment longer than I wanted to.

When we got home I took a nap, which helped my grumpies almost as much as the ice cream did. We had paninis for dinner and I had a big glass of wine. It turned out to be a pretty good day.

Not Me Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama

I did not break down into tears in front of my kids because I feel so overwhelmed lately. And there is no way they responded by cuddling up with me and bringing me all my favorite things.

I did not, for the first time in my life, have to spend Mother's Day without my mom because she was out of town.

I did not get mad at Duane for going out and buying and packaging cookies for a school bake sale even though it desperately needed to be done and I didn't have time to bake any. 

Hope Springs Eternal

We stopped a specialty grocery store today and Wesley spent the time we were in the check out time begging for candy. No matter how many times we said no, he continued to ask.

"Wesley, quit asking. We gave you our answer and you should know that the more you ask, the more upset we are going to get," I told him. "I mean, really. Has asking over and over ever worked on us?"

Wesley thought for a second and then replied, "Well, I just keep hoping that someday it will."

Fasten Your Seatbelts

Hang on everyone. It's going to be (another) one of those weekends. This entire monthi is just a whirlwind, but weekends are the worst.

Today starts off pretty normal with school and work. After work, I'll stop by the house and help Duane load up my truck with stuff for the school yard sale, then we'll be at the school all evening helping to unload load cars, set up and price items. Then we'll come home for a late dinner I will be too cranky to cook and at least one if my children will be cranky. Then I'll need to make something for the bake sale that will be running with the yard sale and get whatever I make individually wrapped. I also need to get tomorrow's dinner prepped for the crock pot.

Tomorrow it will be up early to help with the yard sale all morning until it's time to head to the boys' afternoon soccer games. After the games, we need to go to a store out by church to pick up the things I want to eat for our Mothers Day afternoon at the zoo. And yes, I know it's supposed to rain, but darn it, I want to go to the zoo! When we finally get home, I need to make a an oversized card for the children's choir director at church for the all the choir kids to sign on Sunday.

Sunday is Mothers Day, which would be great if it actually got to be a day for me and my mom, mother in law and stepmom, but it never works out that way. Breakfast in bed? Not for me since he have to out at church VERY early since the kids sing at the early service. They sing at the second service too and I have to get that card signed by all the kids during Sunday School. And after THAT is a choir party for the kids to celebrate all they've done this year and to wish their director good luck at her new church. Then we'll be able to go to the zoo and have a little picnic (hopefully not in the rain) and, with any luck, have a nice afternoon without the kids fighting. We don't currently have any real plans for the evening, but that will change. It always changes.

And then it's Monday again. A new week full of scouts, soccer, gymnastics, fundraiser nights, and planning for the following weekend, which is every bit as busy as this weekend is going to be. So fasten your seat belts, the rest of the month is going to be a wild and crazy ride.

The Secret Ingredient

If you ask Wesley what the secret ingredient is, he'll tell you it's salt.

Ryan has a different secret ingredient. The other day he came up to me and said, "Mom, the secret ingredient for a good day for you is..." then he planted a huge kiss on my hand.

What do you know? He was right!

Ten Years of Bliss

"I Do (Cherish You)" by Mark Wills

All I am, all I'll be
Everything in this world, all that I'll ever need
Is in your eyes, shining at me
When you smile I can feel all my passion unfolding

Your hand brushes mine
And a thousand sensations seduce me 'cause I

I do, cherish you
For the rest of my life
You don't have to think twice
I will, love you still, from the depths of my soul
It's beyond my control
I've waited so long to say this to you
If you're asking do I love you this much, I do

In my world before you
I lived outside my emotions
Didn't know where I was going
Until that day I found you
How you opened my life to a new paradise

In a world torn by change
Still with all of my heart, until my dying day

I do, cherish you
For the rest of my life
You don't have to think twice
I will, love you still, from the depths of my soul
It's beyond my control
I've waited so long to say this to you
If you're asking do I love you this much, yes I do

I've waited so long to say this to you
So, if you're asking if I love you this much, I do
Oh, I do

It's as true today as it was ten years ago. I do. I will. Forever. 

The Mind of a Five-Year-Old

I love listening to the things my kids come up with. Ryan, especially, is at an age where he's learning so much and trying to process big questions into his rather limited world view. It's amazing sometimes.

Take this morning for instance. I got a text from a friend saying that her daughter's hamster had died and that her daughter, who is in Ryan's class, was very upset.  I told the boys what was going on and that they should be extra nice to M. today because she was probably very sad.

"Would it be alright if we prayed for her?" Wesley asked.

"Of course it is!" I said and we all bowed our head at the breakfast table. I said a little prayer for our friend and when I was done Wesley said, "That was different from the prayer I said in my mind, but I guess they were both good prayers. Two prayers is okay too, right?"

I assured him that two prayers would be perfectly okay.  Then Wesley told me that he thought M's hamster was in Heaven playing with Sanders, Logray and Isabelle.

"Does everyone that die go to Heaven, Mom?" Ryan asked me.

"Well, everyone who believes in God and Jesus does," I answered.

"So Grandma & Grandpa's mom and dad, and her sister, and J & G's dad, and Daddy's dad and Isabelle are all in Heaven?"

"Yes, and many others as well."

Ryan thought about that for a minute. "You know," he continued. "People are born every day and people die every day."

"That's right."

"I wonder who is going to be born today. And I wonder who is going to die." Ryan paused to take a bite of cereal. "What do we look like in Heaven?" he asked.

Oh boy, I thought. I should have had another cup of coffee. "Well, no one really knows. We know that no one is sick in Heaven and that everyone is happy. We don't need our bodies in Heaven, but there has to be a way we will know each other when we get there. Sanders was really sick and skinny and was hurting a lot. But he won't be like that in Heaven. I like to think we will look like we did when we were happiest and healthiest and that's how we'll know each other."

Thankfully, my answers seemed to satisfy Ryan and we left for school. On the way to school we saw a street sweeper truck.

"Wow! Look at that truck!" Ryan exclaimed. "What is it?"

"That's a street sweeper, or a street cleaner," I said.

"There are two questions I've always wondered about," Ryan said in the same voice he was using to ask about Heaven earlier. "One is what a dog's life is like. Two is what a cat's life is like. Now I have a third one - if it's fun to drive a street sweeper."

I was recounting this exchange with a couple of my co-workers today when one of them said, "You know, all though questions have the same weight to him." And she's absolutely right. Every one of those things is very important to him. The big questions.

I thought all the big questions were over for the day, but Ryan dropped another one on us at dinner tonight.

"I wrote about Sanders, Logray and M.'s hamster in my journal today," Ryan told us.

"That's so nice of you," I said, taking another bite of my dinner.

"How do people get in their Heaven boxes?" Ryan asked out of the blue.

Ryan calls coffins, urns and the kind of box we have Sanders' ashes in "Heaven boxes."

Duane and I exchanged a quick look and I dove in.

"Those things are usually called 'coffins' or 'caskets'.  There are people called 'morticians' whose job it is to get dead peoples bodies ready to go into coffins, or to be cremated and put into an urn, or a little box like Sanders. Some people's whole body is buried in a coffin and some people are cremated and what's left of their body goes in an urn, or little box."

"When someone is cremated, are their boxes as little as Sanders' box?" Wesley asked.

Right about then it occurred to me that this was the second death conversation I was having over a meal in a single day, but it was too late to turn back.

"No, because people are bigger than cats, so there is more left after they are cremated," I said, thanking God that the kids weren't asking me to define cremation. "Remember when Aunt Rochelle died? You saw her box at the cemetery and it was bigger than Sanders' box."

Wesley thought for a second. "Yeah, it was bigger. Not, like really big, but kind of bigger."

Thankfully, we got the subject changed then. And now you know why we don't go out much.

Not Me Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama.

There is no way I got something out of the freezer to start thawing and then forgot to put back in the refrigerator and found it on the counter 14 hours later, forcing me to dig through the freezer one morning before work to see what we could throw together for dinner that night.

I did not refuse to pick my kids up at school and made them take the bus home on a day I took off work just because going to the school for pick up would have severely cut into my "me time."

I did not go buy a cup of coffee with cream at a coffee shop just because we were out of milk and actually going to the grocery store seemed like more work (even if it would have been less money)

I did not deny my kids an opportunity to go hang out at their cousins house and make them work at the church garage sale set up because I wanted them to start learning about service.

Friday Family Date NIght

I often joke that date night in our house is going to the grocery store on Friday night, most often with the kids. Tonight we decided to "kick it up a notch" and head to the grocery store AND Costco!  We even decided to live high on the hog and eat dinner at Costco.  I knew the kids would be excited about our dinner plans, so I told them about it at breakfast this morning.

"Guys, we're going out to dinner tonight to a very fancy place."

"Where are we going to eat?" Ryan asked.

"Costco," I answered.

"Yes!" cheered Wesley. "I love to eat there! But Mom, I think you might be a little confused. Costco isn't really that fancy."

"It's called sarcasm, child. Learn to speak it."

And really, it wasn't a bad family date night at all.

Ryan chose a piece of pizza bigger than his head

I call this picture "The Angry Bulldog," better known as the face Wesley makes after I take a piece of pepperoni from his pizza. I'm lucky I didn't lose a finger.

Mommy Cheer

You know that cheer/chant that you used to hear at football games that went like this:

Cheerleaders: When we say 'Whetstone' you say 'Braves' (or whatever school you were at) Whetstone!

Crowd:  Braves!

Cheerleaders: Whetstone!

Crowd: Braves!

The boys heard a version of that cheer on a show they watch and have been driving me up a wall creating their own cheers. Of course, the one that has stuck around has been the mommy cheer. It goes like this:

Wesley & Ryan: When we say "Can I?" you say "no!"  Can I?

Mommy: No!

Wesley & Ryan: Can I?

Mommy: No!

It might be funnier to me if it wasn't so darn accurate. But at least they know what I'm going to say. Maybe it means they won't ask me half a dozen times.

Happy Birthday, Carol!

Happy birthday to one of the very best aunts in the whole world!  My aunt, Carol, celebrates her birthday today and you'd be hard pressed to find a more loving, fun, and loyal person.  Carol was always one of the "fun aunts" in my mind when I was growing up. She always had nice cars, Certs in her purse (remember those?) and time to talk to me or play with me. She took my brother and I to see Gremlins in the movie theater and when it scared the snot out of me, she stood next to me in the lobby while I peeked through the windows, trying to get my courage up to go in again.  I know, kind of a weird memory, but it was important to me at the time.

Carol is wonderful with Wesley and Ryan and has a way of making them feel like the most special kids on the planet. She is so patient with them and ooohs and ahs over their artwork and achievements. She takes them to the carousel when we visit and always has little treats for them. They adore spending time with her and I completely understand why.

So "Happy Birthday" Carol!  I hope this year is full of good things that make you smile and laugh!

Not Me Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama.

There is no way I plugged in my iPad to charge overnight but neglected to plug in the charger, resulting in dead electronics the next morning.

I did not stay up late to make brownies for a meeting at work, pack the brownies in a container and leave them on the counter instead of taking them with me when I left in the morning. Even if I did, there is no way I left work (after arriving there early) to go retrieve said brownies. And even if all that were true, I certainly didn't end up cancelling the meeting I made the brownie for. And I know I didn't leave the container of leftover brownies that my co-workers didn't eat sitting on my desk when I left work for the night.

I did not text Ryan's teacher with the message "Ryan is having a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad morning. He cried all the way to school. Whip him into shape, would you? :-) "  And even if I did, there's no way his teacher is so cool that she responded "Roger that! I'm on it!"