May 30, 2009

Malls and Murses.

So we took Makenna to the mall to get her ears pierced. She was pretty excited but a little nervous. The girl shows us the earrings we can chose from. They range in price from $14.99 to $125.99. Of course, she picks the $125.00 diamonds. She has good taste. I suggested the $14.99 silver balls. After about 10 minutes of haggling and filling out the "if you die, it's not our fault" form we finally agree on the silver balls and we tell the sales girl our choice. The teenage manager then informs me that they don't allow children to get anything less than the $33.99 pair. "Oh really?" I ask. "Yes, children's skin is too sensitive for any of the others", she says.
"SO YOU SAT HERE AND WATCHED ME BARGAIN WITH MY CHILD FOR 10 MINUTES TO GET HER TO PICK THE ONES THAT SHE CAN'T EVEN GET? YOU COULD HAVE SAID SOMETHING OH ABOUT 9 1/2 MINUTES AGO. MAYBE ONE OF THE 17 HOLES IN YOUR HEAD PIERCED YOUR BRAIN OR SOMETHING. OH YEP, RIGHT THERE, I SEE SOME COMMON SENSE DRIPPING OFF OF THAT EYEBROW RING". the pretend strong woman voice in my head screams at her.
"Okay." I lamely reply.
Whatever.


That is the face of bravery huh? She did great and loves being a 'lady' now.

We did some shopping (I swear, I was asked no less than 23 times if I was 'doin' okay' in Aeropostal), I tried to explain to Olivia why that girl in the Victoria's 'not so' Secret window was only in panties. We got some frozen yogurt that I called ice cream (the kids were so not fooled) and decided that the mall is just a flashier, cleaner version of Wal-mart where children actually where shoes. It was time to go and then I spied this little gem out of the corner of my eye.



This guy must be in love.
She talked at him the whole time I followed them around. He never said one word. He would nod now and again in the appropriate places.
What the dirt? She's not carrying any heavy bags or trying on clothes or anything.
Is her shoulder broken?
He's not even carrying it by his side...he's wearing it like a girl.
Maybe it's his.

Here's hoping we all get a little help with the really hard stuff today.

May 28, 2009

playing musical blogs.




I'm over here today.
You will love KG and the Skog Blog. He has 3 of the coolest little 'rockstars', great taste in music
and he's pretty darn funny.
Have a good one.

Wednesday Night Playlist - Special Guest!
Tonight's special guest blogger is Mindy, a Skog Family friend of many years. Her older brother Todd taught me how to throw a split fingered fastball and her other older brother Rob tried to teach me how to hit a curveball. Sadly the student could never become the master. In a random twist of fate, Mindy's husband served with me in 'La Gran Mision Chile Osorno' and Greg and I have shared more Yerba Mate than I can even attempt to recall. Most importantly, Mrs. Dibble has an impeccable taste in music and it is with great pleasure I present tonight's playlist.
THE SOUNDTRACK OF MY LIFE
In my ‘other life’ I am a movie soundtrack director.
I pick the songs that set the tone for the scene. I feel like the songs are some of the most influential characters in a movie. I mean, seriously, would you be afraid of Darth Vader if “Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head” pumped through the speakers? I love how music makes me feel and express emotion.
So for this playlist you are stuck listening to some of the scene setters lately in my life. Granted, the music playing most of the time for me these days involves The Little Einsteins or the Jonas Brothers but I still sneak in a few of my own every now and then.
Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol.I know that this song is not really talking about chasing cars but it plays almost every day on my soundtrack because I spend a good part of the day in a car chasing other cars to various locations. When I was a kid my family would take long trips in our suburban and to drown out the noise of 4 brothers and 2 sisters I would pretend like I was in a movie. The scene was me in a bus and it was raining and I am looking out the window to nowhere and a sad song is playing in my head and I would create a long backstory of why I was crying on the bus looking out the rainy window. Where was I going? Who was going to be there? I would look at people in the cars next to me and make up stories for them as well. And then, before I knew it, we were at our destination. So music and cars has always been a thing for me.Plus it’s just a very cool song with great lyrics.
New Soul by Yael Naim.I love spring. Right around January 15th I hit a winter rut and just cannot wait until the cold, ice and snow make their last appearance. I usually have bad hair, bad skin and a bad attitude around March 1st. I’m usually ready to do bodily harm by March 20th. And then something seriously miraculous happens. All of the cold, dead blah’s leave and new, happy joys take their place. Tulips poke through the ground, twigs become buds and I become a new soul.This song plays in my head as I look in the mirror at my new, totally different haircut. It plays while I’m clearing out dead leaves and digging through dirt planting small flowers. It blares as I make it through the entire day without yelling at a child. It is my wake up and start fresh song. The world is full of possibilities and opportunities. It helps me get creative and happy.
Life in Technicolor ll by Coldplay (This video is uber cool)
All These Things That I’ve Done by The Killers (This video is just silly)Ya know those songs that you hit repeat on about a thousand times? I couldn’t decide which one so you get both. It’s my playlist right? One of my favorite things to do is drive with the windows down and the wind rushing through my hair with the music turned up much louder than necessary. A song that just makes you dance like a crazy woman even though the guy next you is very obviously trying not to look at you. I always have to stifle a full on little girl giggle when I do this.
The feeling of complete freedom from my normal inhibitions. I’ve even converted the kids to this practice. You can find them singing along at the top of their lungs and dancing so hard the van rocks. These are their two favorite songs to do this to and that makes me so proud.
Yellow Leadbetter by Pearl Jam.Okay. This is one of those songs that has no rhyme or reason. It feels like Eddie Vedder is just sort of making it up as he goes. Nobody knows the real lyrics or what it’s about. He could be talking about anything. That may be the beauty of the song for me. This is the song that is playing in the background when I put the check for the gas bill in the water bill envelope, or when I give the PTA lady the blank stare as I try desperately to think of some excuse why I can’t run the dunk booth, or when my 3rd grader’s math homework just becomes too difficult for me. These ‘lyrics’ make me feel at peace as I feed my children Ritz crackers and leftover baby mush for dinner…again. And that guitar lick gently rocks me to sleep so I can avoid thinking of all the things I failed at that day. I hear this song frequently.
Fix You by Coldplay.I know it’s another Coldplay song but again, my playlist so….yeah.Most people try all day to make other people think that they are better than they actually are. That’s probably a good thing. Maybe if we try hard enough we actually will become better. But everyone has a person, their person. Someone that you go to and can be completely yourself with, there’s no pretending. The person who knows all the good, bad and ugly and loves you anyway. If you don’t have a person like this, do whatever it takes to get one. Mine is named Greg. No matter what kind of minor or major breakdown I am in or what trial I am going through, he is there. He may not be able to ‘fix it’ but he sure gives it a full throttle effort and usually knows exactly what I need (Dr. Pepper). He is my person. I hope you have one.
Story by Brandi Carlile. I couldn’t very well have a playlist without including my girl Brandi Carlile. This story plays in my mind when I meet new people and people I want to know better.I love stories and no matter how you feel about your life, you have a story to tell. And it just might be a really good one. You may not think so but I guarantee that there is someone who would love your story, who could even be changed by your story.
So get out there and open yourself up. There are reasons you are who you are. Tell someone. Ask someone else about their story. Find out why your clean cut neighbor drives a Harley. Ask your Doctor if she always wanted to be a Doctor. Where is the coolest place your great aunt has been to? The good Lord gave us experiences. He didn’t give them to us to keep to ourselves. We’ve all got these lines on our faces for a reason, we might as well tell the joke that put those laugh lines there. Let someone learn something from you and for heaven’s sake, go ahead and ask your kid’s coach if they’ve ever met anyone famous. It’s fun. Try it. I hope you haven’t been too bored with my soundtrack. Hopefully you’ve heard one that you’ll hit repeat on.
What’s playing on your soundtrack right now? You know you have one.
Thanks KG.

May 26, 2009

Oh Captain, My Captain



So I never really understood the whole Star Trek 'Trekie' thing.
I have seen random episodes of the T.V. series (both of them). And I went to
the movies with Greg just because I love movies and I love him.
I know most of the characters just because it's such an iconic thing.
I guess I was just never really a Star Trek fan.




All of a sudden, (I'm not sure why exactly) I have become a very huge fan.

May 13, 2009

"Sometimes I just hate my kids!!"

WHAT?!? Who in the crap says that?
Yeah, so I'm sitting there at soccer and this lady is behind me on the phone. I hear her whining about being a mother and how hard it is. 'These kids' take up so much of her time and she is so bugged that she's stuck there on a Saturday watching these 6 year olds run up and down the field.
"And all they do is cry and complain," she cries and complains.
The whole time,her younger child is running in front of people screaming and stepping on blankets. Apparently she had had enough and yelled into the phone, "Ugh, sometimes I just hate my kids!".
She then proceeded to grab the toddler by the arm and then take the 6 year old kicking and screaming, out of the game.
She left in a huff and marched the toddler, the disappointed 6 yr. old and the black cloud that most likely follows her everywhere, to the car and they all drove off into unhappiness.
Now I'm the first to admit that motherhood is hard and a daily challenge.
I have been spit up on, puked on, and peed on, cried at, yelled at, and spit at. I've been tired, exhausted and darn near comatose. I've cleaned up more messes, fixed more owies, and done more laundry than I can even think about.
I hate doing dishes, I don't like dusting and I just don't even wash the windows.
And then there's the arguing that goes on between 5 children under 10. I'm convinced that kids just like to argue. The topic is not even important...
they just like to bug each other.
I try to hold it together but as much as I would like to think I'm Ghandi, I'm probably closer to Genghis Khan.
There are days I think I might lose it.
But I would NEVER say that I hate my children. I wouldn't even think it because I cannot even fathom feeling it.
I am humbled daily that God thought enough of me to send me FIVE of His children.
They have such incredible gifts to share with me.
My Lindsay Lou Bug got an extra service gene in heaven.
I depend on her way more than any 9 1/2 year old should be depended upon. She is so eager to please and is willing to do anything that she thinks will make me happy. She succeeds at everything she tries and is humble about it. She is such a fantastic oldest sister and the kids look up to her for every decision. It's such a comfort to know that she will lead them in the right direction. She is very in tune and recognizes significant moments. She wants everyone to like her and be her friend. She instantly loves and is fiercely loyal. I think she is amazing.
My little Kenna Menna is the definition of wonderful. She is full of wonder. She can spend hours in her imagination and never get bored. She has taught me to look at things as a child. It's easy to be cynical and get distracted by daily duties and she constantly reminds me how lucky I am to live in a world where caterpillars magically turn into butterflies and tiny seeds become towering trees. Kenna is the epitome of childhood. She sees the possibility in everything and everyone. She loves music and has a beautiful little voice. She shares her talents with anyone. She adores babies and cries every time that Sarah McClauchlan Animal Cruelty commercial comes on. She prays sincerely and with perfect faith not only for her family but for random strangers. She cut off 15 inches of hair so another little girl could have some hair. She is hope and compassion wrapped up in bubblegum and hairbows. I just love her.
My Olio is like the yummiest, homemade piece of chocolate cake... doused in gasoline, lit on fire and thrown in your face. Her humor and charm come naturally and she is a boatload of fun to be around if you don't mind being told what to do and how to do it.
She is never afraid to be herself or to speak her mind which thrills me and also scares the crap out of me. She doesn't let anyone tell her what to do {including me} I admire her confidence and secretly wish I had more of it. She makes me laugh several times a day and I am sure that we will always be BFF's. She keeps everything fun and exciting. And I just love that husky little voice of hers.
My little man Ethan is such a joy. As long as he has a car, truck, train or all of the above somewhere on his person he is a happy camper. {this is especially helpful at dance recitals and while visiting teaching}. Ethan loves his sisters and waits by the door for them every day to come home from school. He is anxiously waiting for his little brother to grow up. I find matchbox cars in Tyson's jammies all the time. Ethan often forces helicopters and dinosaurs into Tyson's fat little hands and then gets frustrated when instead of making the appropriate sound effects, the baby simply shoves them into his drooly mouth. Ethan loves to be outside and is enjoying his latest discovery...the wonderful world of bugs. He teaches me that life isn't too hard if you have a good attitude. (and a toy or two). He is my little buddy and I think he is awesome.
Tyson is so....six months old. I'm still learning his personality, his likes {mommy milk} and his dislikes {not being held}. He giggles and plays and he has got to be the sweetest, fattest baby I've seen in at least 3 years. And then there's that special look and smile that he gives only to me. It's like I am the single greatest thing to ever happen to him.
Everyone knows how I felt about having a FIFTH CHILD. I was so worried and was apprehensive about it even to the day he was born. The concern over what kind of mother I would be to him was almost overwhelming. But after all the chaos of delivery and the nurses and doctors had left, Greg went to make calls and it was just me and Tyson.
He looked up at me with those minute old eyes and a moment passed between us where spirit communicated with spirit and that little fifth child thanked me for letting him come to earth to be in our family.

It is a moment I will never forget and one I will cherish forever.
He will always be my baby and I will always be his mother.

My mother came to everything we ever did. And there were 7 of us. I don't know how she did it but I always knew that she loved me. Thanks Mom. You're the best example I could have. You too Jill. When I get flustered I picture you two and I think, "I can do it." Dr. Pepper helps too.
So even though the laundry is always behind, the vacuuming hasn't been done and my hair looks like Ethan did it, I hope my kids know that I don't hate them.

May 2, 2009

Tim Gunn....Watch Out!!!

So Ethan decided he's big enough to not only decide what he will wear, but also to get dressed without any supervision.

In his words: "Mom, you leave. I do it by my own."


Ethan's Project Runway...Take One.



Ethan: "They're not working."
Me: "Yeah, you're not kidding."


Take Two:


That can't be comfortable.

He opted to get back into his car jammies.
Can you blame him? Who doesn't love a great pair of jammies?
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