Fiddler on the Roof May Be Too Sophisticated for Kids

I like the black, but I understand that most don't. I appreciate the feed back. I thought it was nice to have something different. I am still searching for a new look, so stay tuned.

In other news...I took my children to see "Fiddler on the Roof." It is not really a kids' play. ...Not because it was inappropriate at all. ...Just because it was too sophisticated for their little minds. They enjoyed some of the dancing, but had no idea what a "Matchmaker" was and why that was important. About midway through the play, Kayci leaned over and asked "Mama, we're Jewish right?" Trying to be as quiet as possible because there were others actually into the play I responded with, "No, we are Christians." She said, "Ohhhh, they don't have Jesus in their heart." And with that she went back to sucking her thumb and trying to find a comfortable position in her theater seat. Courtney sat on my lap the whole time. She was not still for more than 15 second intervals. She did manage to pinch my arm between hers and the chair rest which always hurts more than one would think. She hit her head against my chin twice and dug her heels into the tops of my thighs more times than I can count. But I'm not complaining because she was actually quiet through the entire play and only asked to use the restroom during the appropriate time of intermission. I was very impressed with this. Haley brought her friend Katie and even though these two may be two of the smartest 8 year olds on the planet, this play did not hold their attention very well. They exercised extreme self control and sat still through the entire thing. They didn't make a lot of noise and kept their conversation quiet and on topic. They were even polite to the people that invited us and said "Thank You Very Much." Of course as a mother I was very proud.

It was a nice Sunday afternoon outing. Not one I would soon repeat, but a memory even still. And one question: Does anyone remember when eating out was a treat? I remember when my parents took us to McDonalds it was a big treat and there were no complaints. Today trying to get 4 girls to agree on where we were going to eat a quick lunch almost did me in. Seriously. I had to pull into a parking lot and shift into park and calmly explain that we could only go to one place. So if they didn't like my suggestion, they needed to agree. We ended up at KFC. Then the ordering started. I really like to go to In-N-Out just because there aren't that many choices. As if KFC doesn't have enough choices; this particular KFC was coupled with an A & W Root beer store too. So after spending 15 minutes deciding where to eat and 20 minutes ordering we had about 10 minutes to eat and get to the play. Fast food was not meant to be swallowed and not chewed. There were weird smells coming from the row we were in in the theater and I think I know why.

What do You Think?

I changed the look of my blog site. Obviously.

What do you think? I am open to suggestions. I may not take them, but I'm open to them anyway.

I kind of like the dark look. It is representative of the war raging inside my mind at all times.

Not really...I'm not sure why I like the dark look. Maybe just because it's different. I may change it again. I have a friend who has a blog site that is awesome. She has slide shows and music and great little vignettes. Maybe I will ask her to teach me to make mine cool like that. I will also get her permission to post her site here. I think if you like my site, you will LOVE hers.

Cleaning is Something I should do more often

I have let my kids' rooms get out of control. I am ashamed to admit it, but it is very true...and even actually a little funny. I decided yesterday was going to be the day that I tackled my youngest two children's room. What started out as a well intentioned thorough cleaning, full of enthusiasm and high expectations, ended with a crazy woman purging toys and other objects that were found in their rooms by the trash bag full. I couldn't believe the mismatching toys, parts of games, used pull-ups, single socks, occasional pair of Elmo panties, or other various odds and ends that I found in there. It was actually like a treasure hunt, but imagine a treasure hunt where you would rather not find what was buried under all the toys.

Here are the top ten "best" things that I was surprised to find in my kids room:

1. Missing pieces from Candyland game
2. One domino (How have we even been playing the game without this one domino?)
3. 14 pencils
4. 4 markers with no caps
5. 9 socks, none of them with matches
6. 27 ponytail holders
7. 2 Dried out packages of wipes
8. smashed-into-my-carpet cherry lip balm (birthday gift to Courtney)
9. an old wet pull up sealed inside a plastic bin...the smell when I opened this bin was...well you can imagine

and the best thing that I found in my kids room was......

10. A sippy cup half full of chocolate milk from a week ago!! Yummy!! There really isn't anything better than finding soured milk. It is something I wish I could experience daily.

Number 10 was especially amusing to me because the kids are not allowed to even take water out of the kitchen, much less anything that actually spoils. I think I have lost control completely.

I actually believe that most of these findings were a result of Courtney's newest phase of rebelliousness. I say "No," and she hears, "Sure do what you want; you are the princess in this house." She is definitely scoring some good blog points these days. If I only had time to write about all of them.

So in conclusion I would like to invite everyone over to see Kayci and Courtney's clean room. After 3 hours of deep cleaning, the bio hazard people have declared it livable again. If you do come and visit please don't look at any other room in the house, or at the top of my fans. I'm doing the best I can while still maintaining my heavy television schedule. This includes, but is not limited to, 3different CSI episodes per week, HOUSE, and WITHOUT A TRACE. I am a loyal fan, and the casts of all these shows depend on my faithfulness.

Someone should be able to count on me. Right?

This IS NOT very funny...but still true

This is the reason my blog has been stagnant this week. This is just one side of my precious van. The other side is equally scarey as well as the back from being rear-ended by not only someone behind me, but also by the girl who hit me in the first place. She bounced off the front; spun around and hit me again. All because she didn't have a drivers license and she thought red meant go. I'm still kind of in shock about the whole thing and really have nothing but negative things to say about life and what treats continue to come my way.

Ok, there is one bright spot. Neither Haley nor I were severly injured. The officer on scene said if we'd been in a smaller car we could have been killed. So three cheers for mini vans!!

Steve once again did not answer his phone, (and I really can't write about this without putting my fingers through the keyboard) but I found out the depth of friendships I had by those who stopped to help. God really sent special people to help me.

Words Hurt

How do you communicate this little fact to children? Why is it that they say horrible things to people without thought for the pain their words may cause? As someone who is overly sensitive anyway, I find it hard to believe that my offspring can be so hurtful to others sometime. And lets be honest, embarrassing to me!!

About a month ago, my sweet little 3 year old Courtney was jabbering about to a stranger. We were at a country club watching my sister give tennis lessons. Courtney was being her usual "shy" self and was impressing this man with her command of the English language. I was partially listening, measuring the level of annoyance from this patient stranger. When all of a sudden she said, "Hey, you know what? Brown people are bad guys." The look on the guys face said it all. His instant conclusion was, "Oh, this is one of THOSE type of families...white supremacist or those trying to make sure our borders stay closed and "brown people" are forced to go back from where they came." I swallowed hard and said, "What did you say Courtney?" (Why I wanted her to repeat it...I'm not sure...I was hoping that I heard wrong or that my apparent surprise would assuage any incorrect conceptions this man may have already drawn.). She giggled and said, "Brown people are bad guys right mom?" I quickly walked away and said over my shoulder, "Whose kid is that anyway?" I wonder whatever happened to that impertinent child.

Instance number two:

This past weekend my three children were left with my mother, then my grandmother (Gigi), then my mother-in-law. The variety alone may have been too much for my precious little girls, but it was necessary so I could go and be a pastor's wife for a weekend retreat. (I think this needs a blog all by itself...stay tuned). While staying in the care of my mother, Gigi (pictured above) came over to watch them while my mom played tennis one morning. Upon entering my house both Kayci and Courtney started laughing. My grandma, so thrilled to see these little angels, said, "What's so funny sweet girls?" At which time Courtney, allegedly repeating what Kayci had just said, blurted out, "You're fat." To which my grandma simply replied, "Oh, ok." When I asked Kayci why she said it in the first place she replied that she thought it would be funny. I really don't even want to keep writing. I'm so humiliated and so hurt for my grandma. My grandma, surprisingly said that she thought it was no big deal and very funny. She had a good attitude about it, but I have decided that my children will be given a script everyday of the things they can say and who they may speak to. Deviation from this script will require some kind of consequences. They obviously need this kind of control.

So in the future you will see my children walking along with a written out script of what they can say. If they don't talk to you, just feel lucky. They would have probably called you a bad guy, fat, old, balding, or any other insecurity you may have. My kids seem to think that kind of stuff is funny.

I have failed. (It's only funny if I say it first.)