Category Archives: Life in general

Moving on up

Yesterday was a big day for my boys… it was Jack’s last day in the little kid’s building at daycare. He’s been in this classroom since last fall and I adore his teachers – but I’ve always adored my kids’ daycare teachers because they care for my children and teach them in my absence.
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We love Lisa (left) and Sue, even if Jack adamantly refused to participate in the picture-taking. I will be forever grateful to the people who taught Jack to use the potty (though he still refuses to use it regularly at home) but more importantly, helped shepherd his mind and heart through the terrible twos.
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And yesterday was Liam’s last day of kindergarten. He’s officially a first grader, though he was quick to correct me when I said that as he’s doing the school-age program at our daycare and he apparently thinks that is a grade onto itself. “Mom, I’m not a first grader yet, I’m going to school age this summer!” [Gosh mom, he should have added, based on the tone of voice he used.]
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Above is Liam on his first day of school, below is him in the same spot on his last day. Hard to believe a whole school year has passed between these photos.
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During the past year he has fallen for his kindergarten teacher – I used to be the only one he drew pictures for but countless times he worked on a drawing, only to tuck it away in his backpack for Mrs. A. Not the first time I’ll play second fiddle to another woman in his life. Alas.
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I feel so blessed to have had such a wonderful, uneventful year of school for Liam. No big challenges or dramas to deal with and [fingers crossed/knock on wood/prayers lifted high] hopefully the coming years will bring the same joyful bliss of school ease (the realist in me realizes this is complete unrealistic to hope for, but the optimist hopes just the same).

I’ve got nothing but good things to say about school and daycare at this juncture. Not even a witty, sarcastic comment. Happiness abounds and the summer stretches out in front of us (though, as noted previously, the boys’ schedule is pretty much the same, just in new places so I don’t have that all-too-common, frantic look in my eyes like many of my stay-at-home mom friends tend to wear these days – just another reason I like working and daycare, it works for me just fine and I don’t sport crazy eyes – at least not about summer vacation).

And in case we aren’t friends on Facebook, here’s a little gem Liam said in the car on the way to school yesterday:
Liam: I can’t remember if “F*ck in Black” is by AC/DC.
Me: I think you mean “Back in Black, not what you just said.
Liam: Oh, I guess I just heard him un-correctly.
[I’m just thankful he didn’t say it while we were discussing music with Jack’s daycare teachers. Pretty sure that might get him banned from the school-age program.]

 

New app = new fun

I discovered a fun app that allows me to add drawing and text to my photos… expect much fun to come of this… like a poor (wo)man’s Photoshop for my phone…

At festival last weekend the boys asked me to play hide and seek with them… so keep in mind that they are hiding from me – the person taking this photo…

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I believe the above is a sign I’m getting old. Last summer I got random dark splotches on my left hand after being in the sun and this year I’m getting a much larger dark spot on my right hand, below my pointer finger. It’s more noticeable in person and looks like a bruise. I keep poking it thinking it might hurt at some point, it doesn’t. I promise it’s not because I missed that part of my hand with sunscreen (mostly because I don’t put sunscreen on my hands and I wash my hands after I apply it to the children, though I guess it’s not completely outside of the realm of possibility). Hopefully it’s not a sign I’m dying.


At a stop light the other day I looked in my rearview mirror and saw this guy behind me… just lovin’ life…
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After we turned the corner, he roared off… uncharacteristically long hair streaming out behind his head. Methinks someone has had a midlife crisis. Also, not matter how cool your car is, you cannot pull off a mullet. You just can’t.
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Life… second draft

[Not a second draft on life, but a second draft on this post which I started earlier and wrote in length and have since decided to scrap because it sounded too pat and preachy and I, for one, do not have all the answers. Just lots of questions.]

My original intro line: There are many things that happen in life that just don’t make sense.

My overall point, in a nutshell: Bad things happen. Good things happen. Who knows why. None of it makes sense. Yet, all of it happens. But the point is to remember that ALL of it happens. Life is not all good and it’s not all bad. So when it is bad, have hope because it will get better. And when it is good, be thankful because it could be worse.

And just as a reminder, we don’t need to be afraid to question the small things and the big things (and everything, for that matter) because our questioning could never lessen the greatness of God. He can take it. [thanks, Jill, for that reminder]


Sometimes it helps to do a second draft because it turns out to be an improvement on the first. [This also works for recipes involving chocolate because whipping up a second batch of whatever means you have more delicious chocolate goodness to enjoy.] Too bad all of life doesn’t involve the ability to do a second draft, but then, we’d probably never learn our lesson.

Five Question Friday

It’s Friday… woo hoo!

Liam has two days of school left… where has the year gone?

We’re going on a double date this weekend… woo hoo!

Jack is moving up to a new room at daycare on June 11… sob.

It’s raining and 55 out… Monday it was sunny and 90… why does Michigan weather still surprise me?

I finished one of the most dissatisfying books I’ve ever read yesterday so to cleanse my palate, I read a new one… start to finish. This morning I am tired, but not mad at the world because of the bad book. Worth it.

Time for Five Question Friday…


1. What were you scared of as a kid?
So many things…

  • the Thriller video (thanks, Marty)
  • something coming out of the toilet to get me
  • people popping up in windows while I am looking out of them (particularly at night – but I think this happening at any time of day would scare me still)
  • things chasing me (I hated tag)
  • big dogs
  • bees and wasps (still am)
  • my parents jumping out of the car while we were going down the hill by my house (I had a dream about this and could envision it happening for months afterward every time we rounded the corner at the top of the hill for home). You know… the usual 🙂

2. Do you sleep well in a hotel?
I’d say yes, though it often takes me some time to fall asleep in a new place. Growing up when we’d road trip as a family I would be doomed if I didn’t fall asleep before my parents because they both snored, LOUDLY and I wouldn’t be able to fall asleep for forever if they fell asleep first. But once asleep, I’m fine. Ironically, before I got my tonsils out, I also snored badly. One time Simon (who did and still does snore) and I were in Chicago with our friends, Kara and Andy, and we woke up in the morning and they were gone. Come to find out, we had kept them awake with our snoring so they took everything off their bed and were sleeping in the closet (I have no idea why our chain hotel room had such a big closet). Sorry about that, guys.

3. If you could meet any celebrity, dead or alive, who and why?
I used to answer Robin Williams to this question because any time I see him in an interview, he’s always cracking the other person up and I love a good laugh. But really, I don’t know that I’d have anything to say to him. In general, I’d love to meet a celebrity who I think I could be friends with, with the hopes that they would want to be my friend long after our meeting because how cool would that be… but I’d want to genuinely like them because I can’t fake like someone, I’ve tried.

4. It’s a hot summer day. Do you prefer to be pool side or at the beach?
Depends… If I’m by myself, then pool side but if the kids are with me, beach (fresh water, please). They are happier there and aren’t at as great a risk of drowning because they inexplicably and mistakenly think they can swim. Plus the sand keeps them occupied more than anything could if we were just poolside.

5. What is your favorite summer dish?
Do mojitos count?
{Anything grilled is the cop-out, but real answer.}


Linking up with Mama M for Five Question Friday.

Thursday Randoms

  • One of the perks of a shortened holiday week is that I keep thinking we are one day behind in the week (e.g., all day Wednesday I kept thinking it was Tuesday) and what a joy it is to remember it’s actually a day LATER than I was thinking; I often thing it is the wrong day of the week but am typically disappointed to find out I am not one day ahead of what I was thinking. Hooray.
  • I truly think you can tell the kind of person someone is by how they treat children they encounter. To wit, this morning Liam came to work with me for a little bit before school and on our way out to the car, we ran into one of the trainers from next door, the one who intimidates me the most because the first time I met him with his large black lab I mistakenly asked if he called his dog Sparty (because I thought I had heard him say this and was going to make conversation with him about being a MSU Spartan fan) but instead he sternly said, “No, his name is Spartacus, like the slave.” [Um, okay. Noted.] But this morning, we passed Mr. No Smiles and he warmly greeted Liam with a, “Hey there, buddy.” And now he’s okay in my book.
  • Yesterday I got a phone call at work from a sales guy from Jordan (yes, the country) who was trying to sell me his translation services or convince me to market his business in the States. After I said no multiple times, he switched gears to trying to get me to import water for him from the Jordan River to sell to churches for baptismal purposes. Seriously?
  • Jack is getting in on the music love… Monday I heard him singing a song at Kara’s house and realized he was singing “Sweeter” by Gavin DeGraw and when we got in the car this morning, he requested “Some Nights” by fun. Love it.
  • Speaking of music, Liam told me this morning that he really likes the One Direction song, “What Makes You Beautiful” and then asked if it was by the same people who sing “Moves Like Jagger” because they sound the same. I’m sure Adam Levine would be thrilled to hear he sounds like a boy band (though technically Maroon 5 is a man band, they just don’t do choreographed dance moves).
  • Simon got a migraine Monday night and while I’m sad he felt so crappy, it made me secretly glad because now I think he’ll be more sympathetic and understanding when I have one because until you experience one, you just don’t get how a headache can make you feel so bad. Sorry honey, but I believe you got a migraine to teach you empathy.
  • I always think of things I want to add to these random lists and try to remember them all until I type them up but inevitably I forget one and I’m so bummed. I just want to share all my mindless thoughts with you.
  • Jack is moving up to an older room at daycare soon – makes me mucho sad because while I’m sure it is perfectly fine, I LOVE the room he is in now and his teachers. Plus, this means he’s growing up and while he’s physically still a shrimp, it’s only a matter of time before I have another big boy and not a little guy (try as he may to convince me that he’s still little so he can get another hit off a pacifier).
  • The boys and I walked yesterday and after we did a few circles around the track at the high school (the boys like to run together but then Liam pulls ahead and Jack pouts until Liam stops and waits for him to catch up – repeat again and again) we were walking down the hill to the sidewalk and Liam very doubtfully says, “I guess you’re getting a little skinnier, mom.” Gee, thanks.
  • Also on our walk, we went past a dead (but not flattened) squirrel lying on the sidewalk – Liam seriously determined that cause of death was either electrocution or falling from somewhere. And then it was the first thing he told Simon about this morning, “I’m going with electrocution.” Apparently this made quite an impact on him. I’m just glad there is one less squirrel in the world (also glad squirrels don’t read blogs because I’m quite certain they would picket my house and then I would have to die).
  • Until yesterday my children did not have bikes. Now they do. Just thought you should know.
  • For my husband, who inquired what I wanted for my birthday, please see here, here or here.
  • I’m a little addicted to the Cross Me app… it’s a Japanese crossword game that is like a mix of Sudoku and those slider puzzles that you move the tiles around until a picture is revealed (sort of, but not really).
  • “Wonderwall” (by Oasis) just came on my iTunes… happy.
  • Simon taught Jack to say “Bow chicka wow wow” this weekend.. it’s both inappropriate and impossibly cute.
  • Liam discovered that he likes asparagus and last night requested a bowl of mixed berries to go with his dinner… I have renewed hope that I’m raising kids who will eat normally. [Let’s not discuss Jack’s eating habits. Only to say that feeding a kid who constantly says he’s hungry but who won’t eat many things is a challenge to say the least, especially when he doesn’t like to eat the same food multiple times in a day.]
  • James Van Der Beek’s children are named Olivia and Joshua. Now you know.
  • I watched Fast & Furious (stellar sequel to The Fast & the Furious) and GI Joe Rise of the Cobra both on USA this weekend… it’s like I don’t even know myself. They weren’t horrible. Sienna Miller actually does a passable American accent but does not make a convincing action movie villain (I believe they may have cast her more for her ability to fill out a plunging neckline).
  • My nephew in Texas is graduating from high school this weekend. Considering I clearly recall the first time I met him and having him promptly spit up on me, I feel properly verclempt (and old) that this milestone is being reached. Congrats, Mitch, we are SO proud!
  • As a follow up to yesterday’s texting post, I’d like to express frustration over autocorrect’s over zealous insistence on making me “live” things instead of “love” things and changing “this” to “thus” almost every time. Do people even use the word “thus” with such regularity that autocorrect would “think” I mean that?
  • And now “Glycerine” by Bush is playing (I have it on random for my Top Rated songs) – apparently iTunes wants me to revisit the 90s.