Monthly Archives: July 2007

Monday July 30, 2007

The trouble with grocery carts

Whenever I go to the grocery store and I stand before the rows and rows of grocery carts, I feel like Indiana Jones in The Last Crusade when he is standing in front of all those chalices. As he contemplates his choice the old knight says, “Chose wisely and you will receive everlasting life. Chose unwisely and you will shrivel up until your eyes pop out and you turn into a little pile of dust (I paraphrased that last part).”

I know that if I chose wisely, I will be rewarded with a cart that behaves it’s self. However, if I chose unwisely, I will have to endure a cart that pulls to one side and sounds like a freight train going through the store.

So, I stand there contemplating my choice. Should I take one from the front? No. Those are obviously just other people’s reject carts. On the other hand, the perfect cart could be sitting right in front of me and I foolishly pass it up for a bad cart in the back. How many carts can you pull out of a row without seeming ridiculous? Really; I would like to know.

While I remain ever hopeful, I know deep in my heart, that just like the Holy Grail; the perfect grocery cart doesn’t really exist.

Monday July 30, 2007

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I realized that all of my pictures are of my husband with the boys. Because I’m always the one with the camera, it was beginning to look like the boys were growing up without a mother. You can tell, my oldest was really thrilled to be getting his picture taken!

Friday July 27, 2007

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Before I was wife, before I was mother, I was their friend.
When I think of sweet carefree memories, I see their faces.

Friday July 27, 2007

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I was in the car the other day when a song came on the radio. The tile of the song was something like, “Live life like you were dying”. It’s an idea I’ve often heard expressed but its never really appealed to me. I understand the basic premise of making each day count, but living each day like you were dying seems like a sure way to get yourself killed.

Even if I survived all of the risky stunts one is supposed to do when one is living life to it’s fullest; the sheer stress would do me in. Imagine looking at yourself in the mirror every morning and saying, “Alright, this is the last day of my life. Let’s make it count.” Are you really going to spend 20 minutes eating cereal and reading the funnies? What would you do that day? Paint your toe nails? What would be the point? I really don’t need that kind of pressure.

So, I could hop on a plane to Europe but,… it would be hard to find a babysitter, and the gold fish like to be fed every few days, and the garbage needs to go out on Wednesday morning.

I suppose the real flaw I find in this philosophy are the things that people do in order to make their life seem meaningful. If at the end of your life you can say you climbed a really big mountain or fell out of the sky; does that mean you lived life to it’s fullest?

It’s just a thought; but maybe living life to it’s fullest means waking up everyday and asking God to give you the strength to live each day with compassion and foresight.

Wednesday July 25, 2007

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All week he has been asking, “Go to pool mommy? Go swimming?”. When he wakes up in the morning, when he takes a nap, at bath time, and anytime we go to get in the car, I hear this question asked.

So this morning I wake him up with the good news that today is finally the day we will go to the pool and go swimming. He’s so excited that he wants to eat breakfast in his swim suit but when I give him his cinnamon toast he is too excited to eat.

We make it through all the pre-swimming routines (swim diaper, sunscreen, bathing suit) and it is time to get in the pool.

I’m sure you see where this is going… he puts his feet on the first step of the pool and says, “Done mommy!”

He decided sitting by the pool and eating snacks was more his speed.
Baby Boy was more adventurous than his big brother.

Thanks Jess for inviting us to swim!

Wednesday July 25, 2007

Tuesday July 24, 2007

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Birthday Dinner and an Exploding bowl

It was his birthday yesterday and I had a special dinner planned for when he came home from work. All afternoon I had been slow cooking baby back ribs.

Ten minutes before he was to arrive at home everything was going great. The table was set, the corn on the cob was washed and ready to boil, potatoes were baking in the oven, his birthday pie was cooling on the counter, and the boys were playing happily under my feet.

I had just started to work on the B-B-Q sauce for the ribs and I had set the ribs (which were still wrapped in foil) in a large glass bowl on the stove. They were resting there while I finished reducing the sauce to put on the meat. I glance down at the knobs on the stove and turn on what I think is the back burner, to get the water boiling for the corn.

After about 5 minutes I realize that the water has not started to steam and that the kitchen is starting to smell funny. I look at the glass bowl sitting on the red hot coil, let out a gasp and reach to pull it off the burner. Just as my hand touches the bowl it explodes into a thousand pieces.

I step towards the boys to make sure that they are alright and as I do I place my heel squarely on a shard of glass.

When he walks into the house the boys are crying, I am standing in the middle of the kitchen bleeding and frantically trying to sweep up glass. As far as I know the entire dinner may be ruined and I am dangerously close to crying myself.

He ushers me out of the kitchen, cleans up the glass, comforts the boys, removes the glass from my foot, cleans it and puts a bandage on the cut, and then finishes getting the rest of the dinner ready.

So, for his birthday he did what he does almost everyday; he came home and picked up the pieces!

P.S. dinner was not ruined in fact it actually turned out pretty good.

Thursday July 19, 2007

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What we did today

When Jess called at lunch today and asked what we were up to I replied something to the effect of, “Nothing really, nothing productive.”

Sometimes I really have to remind myself that productivity doesn’t equal a good day. I need to remember that being a stay-at-home-mom means more than just physically being at home.

So, if you ask me now what we did today I would tell you we did lots of really important stuff! Like…

We made play dough. We made snakes, and snowmen, we smashed it and pretended to make cookies and ate them.

We played with blocks. I was in charge of construction he was responsible for demolition. We sorted the blocks, pushed them through the holes in the lid of the box, and Baby Boy tasted them all.

We played with the animals. They all got lined up, identified, and we practiced all the animal sounds we knew. What does a zebra sound like?

Most importantly I spent time with them. The day had it’s ups and downs but all in all it was great. There are times I wish I could leave the house and be apart of the grownup world of work, but then I think about all the things I would miss. I would miss him climbing up into the chair with my Bible opened in his lap and hear him quietly sing, “Jesus loves me,..” Those words have never sounded so sweet or been more poignant than when I heard them coming out of his little mouth.

Wednesday July 18, 2007

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Sweet Birthday Girl!

You will have to forgive me for a moment while I brag about my niece. Monday night was her Birthday Party. An event that could send even a normally well behaved child into a tailspin. But not this sweet girl. She was delightfully surprised with her presents (not expecting or demanding them), please and thank-you were abundantly used, and she graciously shared her new presents with her brother and cousin. On a night that was all about her, she was the picture of generosity.