A funny.

If the thought of alcohol consumption on any level offends you, stop reading now.
I would hate for your opinion of me to drop any further... :)

Today we were invited to go to a BBQ at one of our neighbor's house.
We were asked to bring a couple of 6-packs of beer and some fruit. As others were enlisted to bring a variety of other things.

I pretty much NEVER buy beer. Chris does. Sometimes people bring it over to our house. But I, as a general rule, will not be found in the store buying beer. I think that - before today - it had been over a year since I had made any purchase in a grocery store (Note italics) that one must meet age requirements to buy. (I did buy some spray paint for a project a few months back...)

The contents of my shopping cart today:
Beer
Watermelon
Strawberries
Apples
My daughter

I couldn't ever throw a ham over the top of the beer. There was no hiding in my sin...

I ran into Pastor Henry, Pastor Miller (from another church in town), and another God-fearing family with young children!!

HI-larious!

Of course, I joked with Pastor Henry. I haven't been to church in months and he caught me in the grocery store getting liquored up!! The Lord works in mysterious ways...

STOP THE INSANITY!

I just took a carpenter's knife to the middle of my dining room floor.
I cut it straight across.
I felt like such a rebel I had to write about it.

After that moment, I began ripping and tearing all the flooring out of my dining room and kitchen. It was liberating.

Chris walked in and stood there, kinda in a state of shock and asked, "So I guess this is what we're doing today?"

I shrugged and said, "I looked at that filthy, black-and-white, 50's diner floor and thought, 'I don't ever want to mop THAT floor again. Not one more time.' So I decided that instead of mopping it, I would rip it out."

Background: We bought the tile for our dining room/kitchen months ago. I have had the itch to get it done for over a year. But I had to wait until we could pay cash for the tile. After we saved up enough for the tile, I had to wait for a span of time (without major interruption) to get it done. Summer.

Thank God it's summer!

Potty Training and Bedtime Fake-Outs.

I am listening to little voices (which must be in my head because I have already put my little darlings to bed) explain the steps to using the potty.

I think I am on the brink of a multi-million dollar idea as I sit and listen.

Little steps like...

"Ok, now you hafta wiggle the lid with the hole in it to shake off the extra pee"

And

"Did you flush before you washed your hands? If you didn't, you're gonna get sick from the germs..."

And

"Hey. Don't put your feet in the tub while you're going. You could slip off and make a big mess."

I think I'll write a potty training manual taken straight from the mouths of little ones who have just finished potty training.

It would be a best-seller for sure.
If not a best-seller, it beats that Elmo toy hands down.

I guess I should go begin Round 2 of our bedtime ritual...

The purposeless post.

It's summer for everyone!
It's summer for everyone!

I love having friends who understand SUMMER!

Summa, summa, summa-time...
We can sit back and unwind.
(Best when sung while doing Night at the Roxbury with your head.)

The Schnozberries taste like schnozberries!

My kids had their first encounter with Runts today.
You know, the candy shaped like fruit - which coincidentally tastes like the fruit it is shaped like.

I know that I sound quite sarcastic phrasing it that way - but that, my friends, is exactly the mystery that unravelled at my home tonight.

J. had some candy left over from his birthday that I have been rationing for good behavior and hearty appetites. I decided that this evening was as good a moment as any to unveil RUNTS.

Man! OH! Man!

Just the sight of the stuff made a rowdy audience out of the two of them!
A. squealed, "It's Barbie fruit!"
J. couldn't contain his giggles. "You're giving us candy?"
(Embedded in that disbelief is the fact that they usually have to beg, then realize that begging doesn't work, then go through several unpleasant steps, including spinach eating and room cleaning, and then - at long last - they can have candy... sometimes.)

It was quite the moment in our home. Sort of like this 'hard' Momma is getting soft in the summertime or something...

The real entertainment came when they tasted it. J. would bite down on a banana-shaped runt and exclaim, "The bananas taste like bananas!!"
And, "The strawberries taste like strawberries!!"
Even after he had tried at least one of each of the shapes in front of him, he never lost one iota of zeal while announcing that his ______-shaped candy did indeed taste like _______...

I guess I typed all that out to say that there is no more refreshing a thing in life than childlike enthusiasm. I have the gift of being surrounded by it for the next 11-or-so weeks.
I intend to truly enjoy it and treat it like the gift that it is - to see the world through the eyes of a child.

Maybe I'll even wise up a bit...

POPS

Does anyone on this blog circuit regularly attend the POPS concert?
Just curious.

Here's to something wonderful...

It's finally summer for us!
Toward the end of the school year I felt like I was being tossed end over end at the mercy of an undertow.
Tonight, I sit here - knowing it has been too long since I have updated my blog - with little to divulge.

My son graduated from preschool. There was an adorable little ceremony in his classroom on Friday. I cried big tears. He hugged me with his big knobby self and I was both proud and sad.

My little girl got her ears pierced. I saw a very brave little woman perched high up in a chair as she waited for the shot of pain that she knew was coming. I kept trying to talk her out of it - not really ready for it myself - but she insisted that having her ears pierced was exactly what she wanted. And it was. She loves having 'real' earrings. I can't believe my baby is big enough to make a decision like that.

I have looked forward to summer like it was a far off galaxy for so long. Now that it's here, I really don't know what to do with myself. I have all these things I'd like to do - but I am so bad at pacing myself - I am afraid I'll try to check off my whole list within the first few days of summer... It's a good thing I have two adorable kids to help set the pace.

I miss my friends. Working so many hours and having an obligation to sing at another church on Sunday sure has made me feel lonely. I am glad I will be done with that by the end of June.

Still can't find my camera or the memory card that was in it. Poo.

I hope this summer is everything wonderful and beautiful that anyone could ever want.

I never loved or really appreciated being a full-time stay-at-home mom the way I do now for these twelve splendid weeks each summer!
So here's to another summer...

Somebody pinch me...

Tomorrow morning the movers will arrive at my parents house in podunk-ville.
They will load 37 years worth of an accumulation of furniture, artwork, and what-not.
They will drive to the most beautiful house on my parents' new street and unload the contents of that moving truck.
After much pushing, lifting, nailing, and tugging, the final resting place for each treasured item will be decided.
If you knew the way my mom rearranges furniture, you would be laughing at the use of the word "final."

At long last, they are coming.
We will be neighbors.
"Can you spare a cup o' sugar?" neighbors.
A literal hop, skip, and jump from my house.
It's palpable and I am jazzed!!

Happy Birthday, Precious One!

My! How time has flown!
My baby boy is turning 5 years old today.

You have an unparalleled gift and ability to really savor life.
Your exuberant spirit and over-the-top reaction to everything here on this earth have brightened our world!
You have taught me a thing or two about really LIVING. Full throttle.
Without your dimples and Hershey kisses eyes flashing in my direction when you've done something kinda rotten, our lives wouldn't be half as fun or exciting!
The simple yet profound questions you ask as you eagerly taste your world are refreshing.
Your unquenchable curiosity is truly a mark of the gift God has given you - to crave learning and to seek answers.
The truth in your laugh and the purity behind your eyes challenge me to be the very best I can be each day.
I cannot imagine this world without your footprint in it, you are a truly unique and wonderful gift to us all!
I love you, my ooba dooba with every ounce of love my heart can muster!

Heel clicking.

Including today, there are 6 days left at our school.
I'm just sayin'...