DS3 shows that if you're small enough, you can do chin-ups anywhere. Even at Kohls.
I think the tongue makes him stronger. It's a Jedi thing.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Exercises @ Kohls
DS3 shows that if you're small enough, you can do chin-ups anywhere. Even at Kohls.
I think the tongue makes him stronger. It's a Jedi thing.
Clothing Wars
The boys and I are in an unspoken war. I try to make them look nice and they prefer to look like street children. I haven't decided if they just don't CARE whether or not they're dirty and stinky, or if it somehow makes a social statement. Maybe it brings popularity?
Since we'd been cooped up from the storm, we decided to hit Kohls sale while DH went to work. Here's the game plan: one pair of (sale!) jeans for each kid, several shirts, possibly shorts. We start by picking out 3 or 4 (new, non-frayed) t-shirts with sarcastic slogans. 15 minutes later, we're still looking at the same 2 racks and I realize that boys CAN be just as picky as girls.
Finally we find ($15 sale) jeans and I send DS1 & DS2 into the dressing room. Oh, did I mention that this is all in the young MEN'S section?? Yep. (sigh) Out of the corner of my eye, I hear laughing and see FLYING PANTS pants. Again & again. I can't stare into the men's (!) dressing room like some sort of voyeur, so I take DS3 from his "chin up bar" and send him in to figure out what's going on and report like a spy.
A man walks out, shaking his head and I pretend to be the calm woman, out for a solo shopping trip on a quiet Saturday morning. Finally, I have to be HER, the woman yelling threats into the men's dressing room. I still remember my mom doing that to my brothers.
Finally, we venture to the little boys' section for DS3, find NO pants on sale. He pleads with me to buy him yet another pajama set --that he could wear to school!-- and settles on a Lego Star Wars t-shirt instead of the obnoxious "I hate homework" choic. God bless his little self.
By the time we left, I decided it's not worth it. From now on, when you see those boys walking around like street children, you'll know why their mothers don't dress them better. I will even claim them if it means avoiding another shopping trip.
Since we'd been cooped up from the storm, we decided to hit Kohls sale while DH went to work. Here's the game plan: one pair of (sale!) jeans for each kid, several shirts, possibly shorts. We start by picking out 3 or 4 (new, non-frayed) t-shirts with sarcastic slogans. 15 minutes later, we're still looking at the same 2 racks and I realize that boys CAN be just as picky as girls.
Finally we find ($15 sale) jeans and I send DS1 & DS2 into the dressing room. Oh, did I mention that this is all in the young MEN'S section?? Yep. (sigh) Out of the corner of my eye, I hear laughing and see FLYING PANTS pants. Again & again. I can't stare into the men's (!) dressing room like some sort of voyeur, so I take DS3 from his "chin up bar" and send him in to figure out what's going on and report like a spy.
A man walks out, shaking his head and I pretend to be the calm woman, out for a solo shopping trip on a quiet Saturday morning. Finally, I have to be HER, the woman yelling threats into the men's dressing room. I still remember my mom doing that to my brothers.
Finally, we venture to the little boys' section for DS3, find NO pants on sale. He pleads with me to buy him yet another pajama set --that he could wear to school!-- and settles on a Lego Star Wars t-shirt instead of the obnoxious "I hate homework" choic. God bless his little self.
By the time we left, I decided it's not worth it. From now on, when you see those boys walking around like street children, you'll know why their mothers don't dress them better. I will even claim them if it means avoiding another shopping trip.
Snow or rain?
The weekend really started Thursday night, with high expectations of snow and all that that brings to our area in the spring. Our weekend plans were teetering back & forth with each new announcement since the weatherman couldn't determine if it would be really rainy, or cold enough for 2 feet of wet, heavy snow. Friday night was supposed to be the sock hop, a school fundraiser for DS1's class. Saturday we had birthday parties for BFF's two cute DD's (1yo and 3yo) who live about 45 min across town. Sunday BFF and I planned on ambushing our respective boys with a trip to Six Flags.
And we waited... anxiously.
Friday morning, 6 am. No snow when DH left for a work conference. NONE!
Friday morning, 7 am. Snowing, but not sticking
Friday morning, 8:30 am. Starting to stick. (You get the drift, right?)
By the time I picked the boys up at 3:00 from school, the roads were a slushy, slippery mess. The sock hop had been postponed a week (other problems here), the birthday parties canceled, and Six Flags was either canceled or postponed. I did stop by work and pick up vouchers for a free 14-ers (think NBA but farm team) game Saturday night -- if we could get there.
And we waited... anxiously.
Friday morning, 6 am. No snow when DH left for a work conference. NONE!
Friday morning, 7 am. Snowing, but not sticking
Friday morning, 8:30 am. Starting to stick. (You get the drift, right?)
By the time I picked the boys up at 3:00 from school, the roads were a slushy, slippery mess. The sock hop had been postponed a week (other problems here), the birthday parties canceled, and Six Flags was either canceled or postponed. I did stop by work and pick up vouchers for a free 14-ers (think NBA but farm team) game Saturday night -- if we could get there.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
...and then life happens
(why I chose this blog title)
I had lunch with a friend yesterday to discuss some issues regarding the boys. She can relate to some of my situation, and bonus -- she's a lawyer. At one point, she commented, "How did two intelligent women like us fall for it? At least we learned from our mistakes." (I am paraphrasing from faulty memory.) She was referring to our individual ex-husbands (XH for short) and how we ever believed their lies.
Really though, isn't that what life is about - making mistakes and learning from them? There's more personal growth there (in my opinion) than following a strict set of plans.
The phrase "best laid plans..." popped in my head all afternoon and I realized I had no clue where it came from. I guessed Steinbeck, then learned I was wrong (shocking) since it originated here in a poem by Robert Burns. Regardless, it fits my life story. I grew up as the "brain child" who was on track to finish my bachelor's degree before I left my teens. I was going to take the world by storm, just because I could. I had plans for my life, my parents had plans for my life... and then life came along and smacked that arrogant girl and her plans. K-O.
The girl who pretended to be omniscient fell for the oldest lines in the book, delivered by a used-car salesman in pretty boy form. My plans and schemes dissolved into a vaporous dream state, remembered painfully during those years in marriage wasteland. Don't misunderstand me; I have 3 amazing children and would relive every painful, horrific moment of those seven years to have them again. My original plans, however, did not include a marriage, 3 babies, and divorce by 25.
Still, my life is not fully in my hands, and God has helped me through it all. I am not the man in Burns' poem either looking back in despondency or forward in fear. For me, the despair of abandonment turned into amazing joy as my life took a new path. I can plan for my future fully realizing that my visions may not come to be. The beauty of life is the unexpected surprises that change your path and mold you into who God wants you to be.
Jer 29:11 (NIV) "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
Oh, the Jews still had to endure 70 years of captivity. (I've learned that God's timeline can be a bit different, by the way.) This site has a pretty good commentary explaining the verse in context too.
Last- for fun: The Onion's article. Enjoy.
I had lunch with a friend yesterday to discuss some issues regarding the boys. She can relate to some of my situation, and bonus -- she's a lawyer. At one point, she commented, "How did two intelligent women like us fall for it? At least we learned from our mistakes." (I am paraphrasing from faulty memory.) She was referring to our individual ex-husbands (XH for short) and how we ever believed their lies.
Really though, isn't that what life is about - making mistakes and learning from them? There's more personal growth there (in my opinion) than following a strict set of plans.
The phrase "best laid plans..." popped in my head all afternoon and I realized I had no clue where it came from. I guessed Steinbeck, then learned I was wrong (shocking) since it originated here in a poem by Robert Burns. Regardless, it fits my life story. I grew up as the "brain child" who was on track to finish my bachelor's degree before I left my teens. I was going to take the world by storm, just because I could. I had plans for my life, my parents had plans for my life... and then life came along and smacked that arrogant girl and her plans. K-O.
The girl who pretended to be omniscient fell for the oldest lines in the book, delivered by a used-car salesman in pretty boy form. My plans and schemes dissolved into a vaporous dream state, remembered painfully during those years in marriage wasteland. Don't misunderstand me; I have 3 amazing children and would relive every painful, horrific moment of those seven years to have them again. My original plans, however, did not include a marriage, 3 babies, and divorce by 25.
Still, my life is not fully in my hands, and God has helped me through it all. I am not the man in Burns' poem either looking back in despondency or forward in fear. For me, the despair of abandonment turned into amazing joy as my life took a new path. I can plan for my future fully realizing that my visions may not come to be. The beauty of life is the unexpected surprises that change your path and mold you into who God wants you to be.
Jer 29:11 (NIV) "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
Oh, the Jews still had to endure 70 years of captivity. (I've learned that God's timeline can be a bit different, by the way.) This site has a pretty good commentary explaining the verse in context too.
Last- for fun: The Onion's article. Enjoy.
The best laid plans of mice & men often go awry...
Please bear with me as I'm a newbie blogger.
First, let me tell you that I am at times a completely random individual. This means that I will probably have no pattern here of either eloquent or funny entries. My life isn't like that.
My purpose in blogging is to capture stories I might otherwise forget. Sometimes that may just be a picture, and other times a nonsensical rambling of thoughts. I haven't decided if I'm going to offer this to the web or keep it for myself either.
I would also like to work on my creative expression. I am not a writer, and my lack of grammar skills might make me look like a remedial high school student. Hopefully I'll get better eventually.
In the meantime, don't read this unless you want to.
First, let me tell you that I am at times a completely random individual. This means that I will probably have no pattern here of either eloquent or funny entries. My life isn't like that.
My purpose in blogging is to capture stories I might otherwise forget. Sometimes that may just be a picture, and other times a nonsensical rambling of thoughts. I haven't decided if I'm going to offer this to the web or keep it for myself either.
I would also like to work on my creative expression. I am not a writer, and my lack of grammar skills might make me look like a remedial high school student. Hopefully I'll get better eventually.
In the meantime, don't read this unless you want to.
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