Monday Minute and How to Hear Back From Me

Has anyone you've known personally lived to at least 100?
Actually, no. But very, very close. We have some wicked longevity in our family so upper 90s is pretty much the standard. No one's cracked The Century Club though....yet!!

What material possession do you value the most?
Easy: My wedding ring. And my violin.

What do you think happens to us after we die?
This is waaaay too deep of a question for a Monday morning. Ummm, heaven?

Most embarrassing item in your house?
Probably my tummy-sucking-in-undergarments. That's hot.

and finally...

If you could rename yourself, what would your name be?
I would switch my middle name with my first name. Just do a flip flop. Can anyone guess what my middle name is????? (people who know....shhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!) If you leave a guess I will reply back and let you know if you are right or wrong. That is, if you have it set up so I CAN email you back. If not, here is a tutorial:


Go to your Dashboard on Blogger.com.


Hit your edit profile right next to your picture, avatar or whatever else you have showing.


Scroll down to the line that says : Show my email address and CHECK THE BOX.


Hit save.

For those of you who do not want a regular email address to show, go to Gmail, Yahoo or any other number of places and get a FREE email account and set it up.

Wordless Wednesday: The Self Portrait

 

Feel Good Friday: Michael Jordan!

So, we had some bad weather here in Minnesota yesterday.

For about 25 minutes last night we had some REALLY bad weather roll through our neck of the woods. Small trees uprooted, large branches down everywhere, power lines down. And we didn't even get the worst of it, not by a long shot! There were like 35 tornadoes in Minnesota yesterday and thankfully none of them landed in our neighborhood, or anywhere really close.

There was lots of damage and even some deaths associated with this storm so I don't want to make light of it.

However.

Last night was so much fun!!!

This probably sounds freakish considering the weather that we had with an inch of rain in 20 minutes and 60 mph straight line winds. And I HATE storms. Hate. I was nearly hit by lightning last October (that is for a whole other post) so I really, really, really despise storms.

[At this point you are wondering what the hell this has to do with Michael Jordan OR Feel Good Friday. Keep your panties on, I'll get there.]

When the sirens went off we were in the process of trying to get Miles to sleep. We knew there was the possibility of the sirens going off but we were going to give it a shot anyway. So when the sirens went off we grabbed Miles and headed for the basement.

For some reason it was fantastically fun to hunker down in the basement, the three of us snuggled up on the couch reading books. And Miles was having the time of his life! He was getting to stay up way past his bedtime and hang out with his two favorite people! What could be better?! He was silly and sweet and funny and patient as we waited out the storm. It was so much fun and made me incredibly happy! [There's the Feel Good Friday moment, Part 1]

We were flipping back and forth between the weather coverage and the NBA finals. We couldn't care less about the NBA finals but I knew Miles would dig it ... he loves watching basketball on TV. He will cheer loudly and enthusiastically when they make a basket and he will say "almost!" when they miss. It's friggin' adorable.

And then they cut to some commentary. For some reason they were listing some of the bball greats, "Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, ..."

Then came the scream out of Miles mouth: "MICHAEL JORDAN! MICHAEL JORDAN!"

Clear as a bell.

WHA?!?!?

Grant and I looked at each other in disbelief. We are NOT huge basketball fans, nor do we talk about Michael Jordan incessantly (or at all), nor do I give a flying fart about basketball.

And why, out of all of those names would be have picked out "Michael Jordan" when he was only half paying attention in the first place???

Then Grant remembered: Once a long time ago we went to a pizza place where they have a Michael Jordan pinball machine. Grant remembers saying, "That's Michael Jordan." ONCE. One time. Ever. Never to have uttered his name again. Why on earth would that stick in his little brain?

Some would say (and you know who you are) that it's because he is destined to be a basketball superstar.

I say [and this is the Feel Good Friday moment, Part 2] it's because my boy is brilliant and wicked smart! [parental bias notwithstanding :-) ] His brain is like a little sponge and we are constantly amazed at what a two year old can absorb and learn and RETAIN, even after just hearing something once.

So next time you are around a two year old watch what you say! You never know when it will pop back up and out of their mouth!!

The Proposal (Part 2)

There's really no good news OR bad news to share. Just news :-)

The long and the short of it is that the 'power that be' was less than enthusiastic when I presented my eloquent and well-thought-out proposal (I think I said a lot of things like "ummm..." and "ya know?" ... not my best delivery of all times). But I am pretty sure it wasn't HOW I said it, it was WHAT I was saying. It obviously isn't ideal for me to not work one day in the week, especially considering how tiny our staff is.

So, after more thought and conversation we decided that a happy medium would be for me to just take some days off this summer when I felt I needed them. I have time off, and I should use it. I have already planned some time off so I can spend it with my boy and that makes me happy for the time-being.

Best of both worlds? Maybe. It would be great to have a 4-day work week but for right now that is not in the cards.

Now, who has some good ideas for some fun mommy/toddler activities to do this summer???

It's My LOL Day!

I often wonder if my humor translates on my blog. And I don't really have to wonder long because I think the answer is usually a big NO. Take yesterday's post for example. That was supposed to have been tongue-in-cheek. I thought that was rather tame compared to how shitty I was really feeling yesterday. I *could" have written a really depressing post but decided to go the humor route instead. As I often say, if I didn't laugh I would cry. Does that translate at all??

*crickets chirping*

And moving on...

If you can believe it I am actually the featured guest post today over at Laugh Out Loud. Go over and check it out!

Poetry That Makes Sense to Me

If you are waiting to hear the outcome from this post, well....get in line. Me too.

If you checked in to hear me bitch about my toddler then you have come to the right place. After reading this post you will wonder why I want to spend extra time with our little monster. Again, get in line...I am wondering the same thing today, too. :-)

Here's a little poem I wrote that pretty much sums up where I'm at with the Terrible Twos right now. And I am not a big fan of poetry. I did all I could in college to avoid taking a poetry class. I think I begged my advisor and maybe bribbed her with some Olive Garden gift certificates if I could only just NOT take poetry. I don't like it. Are you pickin' up what I'm puttin' down?

But this, THIS is poetry that makes sense to me.


To My Dear, Sweet Two Year Old

When you cry I want to drink.
When you scream I want to drink more.
When you cry and scream until you throw up I want to break out the hard liquor and a straw.
When you whine I want to inject the vodka straight into my veins.

Oh, my two year old, don't cry because I won't let you eat ice cream for breakfast.
Oh, my two year old, don't scream because I put you in a time out. For the 12th time.
Oh, my two year old, don't kick me when I am trying to change your diaper.
Oh, my two year old, can I take a nap?

Dear sweet little 30 pounder, love of my life,
Give me a break.
Dear sweet size 3T-wearing and defiant child of mine.
I love you so.

But next time you whine and cry and scream...
Go find daddy first.

Mama's sleeping.
And sleeping.
And sleeping.
You tired her out.
And the vodka didn't help, either.

The Proposal (Part 1)

You thought this was going to be the story of how Grant proposed to me, didn't you? Didn't you??? It's not. Although that would be an interesting post...

The kind of proposal I'm talking about is of the professional sort. I am going to make a proposal to my "boss" (those who know where I work can understand why this is in quotes...I work for Jesus...) about my work schedule. I want to work one day less a week. Well, a half-day less. Confused? Yeah, me too.

Let me back up a bit.

Yesterday when I picked up Miles from daycare (Sharon's) I heard these gut-wrenching words for the first time: "I want stay Sharon!" (translation not needed, right?)

Ugh.

When I heard him say that I wanted to do all of these things simultaneously: 1) Curl up in a ball and do the ugly cry. 2) Tell Sharon that I will not be needing her anymore because I am quitting my job to stay home full time. 3) Tell Miles that sounds like a good plan, see ya in the morning.

Now, let me just say that #'s 1 and 2 were the most prevalent thoughts at the time but #3 did sneak in there for a second (I was dreaming of a long, leisurely dinner with Grant and not doing the bedtime fight that is *so* fun right now). Those are words that you just don't want to hear. You want your child to run joyfully into your arms and be gleeful about the opportunity to come home with you. Most days he IS happy to see me and DOES want to come home with me. But he was in a mood yesterday. A foul one. However, that's beside the point. The point is that if Miles could hold up his middle finger he totally would have flicked me off right then and there.

Here are a few side thoughts: I don't want this to become a forum for Stay-at-Home vs Working moms. I do not engage in that kind of discussion because I think to each their own. I don't judge and hope no one else would judge me for decisions our family has to make in that area. I, personally, always want to work. And if we want to pay our mortgage every month I have to work. I think SAHMs are amazing, but I could never, ever do it. BUT (and this is a big BUT) this does not mean that I don't have oodles and oodles of Mama Guilt about it. Especially when my son would rather stay at his daycare provider's house than come home with his own mama. It's natural, I know, for him to be attached. And thank GOD he is! He loves Sharon and loves it there. But still....there is that lingering feeling of guilt that I am not home with him all day, every day.

I know he loves me. I know this because he won't even let go of me long enough to let me pee by myself.

And this comes off of a week (last week) where he was having SEVERE separation anxiety. If I would even look at my car keys he would burst into tears and not stop for hours. Seriously. It was sort of scary but I think it's a normal phase that all kids go through. We are now constantly reminding him that mama ALWAYS comes home. That seems to be helping.

Anyway, the point of this whole, long story is that I am going to propose that I have Fridays off. I only work half days on Fridays anyway, and could probably squeeze the hours that I would miss on Fridays into my Monday-Thursday schedule. I would like to have a whole day with him every week....just the two of us. I love the weekends when daddy is around but I would also love to spend some time with Miles that is purely our own. Know what I mean?

I have been thinking about this for a long time but Miles' words yesterday just pushed me into action.

So, I am going to breach this with the powers that be this afternoon. I have a good argument all laid out and I think I have a good shot. But there is always the very real possibility I will get rejected.

Will I get my wish? Look for "The Proposal (Part 2)" ... coming soon!

Sometimes It's Just All Good

Sometimes you just need a little breather and don’t post on your blog for two weeks.

But it’s all good.

Sometimes you are unhappy that Blogger decided to be super sh*tty and crap out on you the second you actually wanted to post something.

But it’s all good.

Sometimes you slowly try to figure out what your blogging life should look like…and get nowhere in your discernment process.

But it’s all good.

Sometimes things that scare the bejeezus out of you and subsequent trips to the hospital to visit a tiny, treasured friend can make you lose sleep. And drink more. And pray A LOT.

The praying part is definitely all good.

Sometimes a dear friend can be moving thousands of miles away and that makes you want to cry. But then you think about the trips that you will get to take to her new home in a warmer climate…

So, it’s all good.

Sometimes you wonder why your neighbor with the blonde hair and tiny waist decided that doing weeding and other yard work is best done in a cute little sundress. Is she trying to look sexy for Grant? Probably.

But it’s all good.

Sometimes you feel really bad that you have neglected to comment on blogs lately. But then you realize that it is what it is. And they know you still adore them.

So, it’s all good.

Sometimes you drop your brand-new Blackberry (the replacement for the replacement) on concrete and it no longer looks very new. 

But it’s all good.

Sometimes you see your 2 year old son ride his bike for the first time and do it with such ease it fills you with unimaginable joy and pride.

That is definitely all good.

Sometimes you are insanely grateful for things like doctors, nurses, medicine, clean water (*cough* BP *cough*), friends and family that stick with you through thick and thin, a good job, books, wine, kiddie pools in the summer, True Blood (my new addiction....for a whole other post) and loyal blog commenters :-)

ALL GOOD.